The Neutron-Vortex Rules for a Mutually Beneficial Friendship
by DistrictThirteenTribute
Summary: Jimmy Neutron and Cindy Vortex are perfectly content with their (sexually) beneficial friendship. But when the boundaries they set get the better of them, how much longer, and will it even be possible, to keep the arrangement up? NOW OFFICIALLY COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

**The site wasn't allowing me to upload this yesterday for New Year's Eve as I originally planned. So here's my second attempt. Anyway... as the summary says, this is the readers' vote winner!**

**That being said, let's make a deal: I'll keep writing as long as I keep seeing feedback (preferably positive). It doesn't matter if it's in the form of reviews, follows, or favorites or anything. If I see that some of you like it, I'll keep going.**

**I don't really know how this story came to be, but I am surprised that no one has ever thought of this before, at least to my knowledge. I'm both nervous and excited about this one. Warning you right now, there is adult content like you haven't seen before from my JN stories. Nothing too bad, but it can make some people feel uncomfortable seeing as this is a children's program to begin with. So as much as I want you to give it a shot, here's your chance to back out now if you want.**

**If you're still here, awesome.**

**Cast list! I've never done this for a story before but since seeing them as teenagers is something that is totally new for us, I thought it would be best to have a face to match the name. This is, of course, who I think best resembles the characters, but you are totally free to imagine somebody else. **

Jimmy Neutron**: **_**Andrew Garfield**_**. Mainly, it's because of his look in the Amazing Spider-Man movies, (minus the Spidey suit, obviously). Let's just forget about that beard and crew cut and you've got yourself a teen genius.**

Cindy Vortex**: **_**Dianna Agron. **_**Simply because she is stunning and could play the complex character of Cindy really well. Plus, on Glee, her non-Cheerios wardrobe is similar to what I imagine Cindy dressing like as a teenager.**

Libby Folfax**: **_**Kat Graham.**_** I personally think she is so underrated in terms of her beauty, not that that's all she's got going for her. I haven't seen enough of The Vampire Diaries to see her acting chops firsthand but I have a feeling she could play the sassy fashionista really well.**

Sheen Estevez**: **_**Tyler Posey.**_** He was not my first choice, but then I saw a picture of him that made me go, "Yes, that's him! Yes!" And he could also rival Sheen in terms of his silliness, which is really important with a character like him.**

Carl Wheezer**: **_**Ed Sheeran. **_**I know he's not an actor, but when I pictured teenaged Carl, Ed's face just popped into my head. Anybody that read my story **_**Perfection**_** knows how I envision Carl as a teen, and Ed Sheeran looks the part really well, I think.**

**Obviously, these five won't be the only characters in the story, but for now they are the ones that I have an actor for. If I think of someone for another character, I'll just mention it as part of the author's note before a chapter.**

**That's all I've pretty much got to say for now. I'm working really hard on this story and hopefully you like what I've presented you so far. Thank you and... enjoy!**

"Libby, do I really have to go to this?" I asked while standing in front of my best friend's full length mirror in her bedroom wearing a top that had more cleavage than I was comfortable with.

"Cindy, don't start! You promised you would go." She reminded me.

"Yeah, but that was before we started playing Party Girl Dress Up."

"Well, you have to look good."

"I look good in my own clothes." I answered back, slightly irritated.

"There's nothing wrong with trying something new, Cindy." My best friend replied with the casual flip of a magazine. I didn't answer and turned away from the mirror.

"Remind me again why it's so important that we go." I asked, trying to change the subject.

"Cindy, it's the senior year kickoff party. We have to go! Britney invited the entire senior class."

"Well, that's going to be crowded." I replied dryly.

Libby glared at me.

"I'm sure not everyone is going to go." She explained.

"So then why do we have to?" I questioned.

"Cindy..." She rolled her eyes, getting annoyed with me. "You said you would go. Plus, Britney is our friend. It's not like she's a stranger or some random senior that we don't know."

"I know, I know. I said I would go. I'm going to keep my word."

"Good. I'm glad to hear that." She spoke as I turned back to the mirror, trying to find some way of making this ridiculously revealing shirt less revealing. "Sheen told me that Jimmy's going to be there."

"Yay?" I wasn't sure if that was supposed to please me.

"Oh, come on. Aren't you excited to see him?"

"He's my neighbor. I see him more than is necessary."

"But not as much as you want to." She said softly, but I was still able to hear her. Not wanting to start an argument, I turned to her and brought the subject back to my clothing choices for tonight.

"Can I please wear my own clothes? I'm giving you something you want. You can at least give me something I want in return."

"Fine." She caved in. "But you have to surprise me."

"Okay." I said, agreeing to whatever that meant.

"I'm serious! Look Cin, you have a hot little body. You need to start wearing clothes that actually show it off as opposed to all your little dresses and cardigans."

"Hey, I like my little dresses and cardigans."

"Just...try to wear something I wouldn't expect you to. Surprise me."

"Okay." I was already mentally going through my closet, trying to find the most shocking thing. "I'll try."

* * *

It's not that I never planned to wear this outfit. I just never thought I would wear it somewhere so...public. While other girls would think nothing of it, I definitely consider this to be more of the risque pieces I own. A tight little black crop top and red miniskirt really should be Libby approved because I was not about to turn back and put on something else.

In the end, I took her mouth dropping open when she answered her front door to let me in to be a good thing.

"Close your mouth. You'll catch flies." I warned as I walked in.

"Cindy, you look incredible! Why don't you wear things like this more often?"

"You don't realize how hesitant I was about wearing this, do you?"

She laughed with a playful roll of her eyes. "We should get going. Are you ready?" I nodded noticing that only thing I needed was my wristlet, which held my phone, chapstick, and emergency cash.

We decided to carpool over to Britney's where we would meet up with the guys. Libby was particularly excited about seeing Sheen, not that it should surprise me seeing that they've been dating for nearly a year. Although what does surprise me is Carl's relationship status. To put it simply, he's kind of a ladies' man. He's not one to hold down a girlfriend, but he definitely wouldn't have any difficulty if he actually tried.

And then there was Neutron. He is still pretty much the same as he has always been. The only thing that's really changed is how much more arrogant he is. However, and I do argue this, Libby mentions how we've become more 'flirty' in the past couple of years. And if by that she means that we're at each other's throats more often than when we were children, then yes, she's right.

We arrived at Britney's in under fifteen minutes and by the looks of things, it seemed that party had been going on for longer than that. Hearing the loud music from down the block should have prepared me for that though.

Libby somehow managed to find a parking spot quickly and we both got out of the car and headed towards Britney's house. Being her friends, we had been here plenty of times, so it was quick to notice how different her usual pristine house looked now that it had dozens of chaotic teenagers in it.

Despite that, it didn't take a very long time before we were able to find the boys, each with a cup in their hand.

"Libbypop!" I heard Sheen exclaim as we approached him, Carl, and Neutron. With a smile that filled her whole face, she ran up to him and kissed him like they hadn't seen each other in days even though it was probably less than twenty-four hours.

After exchanging a friendly smile with Carl, I turned to the most irksome of the trio.

"Neutron." I greeted in my usual careless tone.

"Vortex." He answered back. "You look..." He looked me up and down and I couldn't help be feel a little anxious to hear his answer. "Lovely."

_Lovely? What am I, five?_

"Thanks. You don't look so bad yourself." Although I didn't nearly give him the go-over like he gave me, I really couldn't deny how good he looked.

As the opening bars to the next song starting playing, Libby leaned in to whisper in my ear that she was going with Sheen to get us some drinks. I nodded as they turned away, but I wasn't expecting them to return anytime soon.

I stood between Jimmy and Carl, not saying anything to either one of them. Even though I don't pick on Carl anymore and haven't done so in years, I wouldn't really consider us to be close friends. We're friendly with each other, sure, but that doesn't mean we are able to pick up a conversation as quickly and easily as I can with Libby or another one of my girl friends.

Thankfully, the awkwardness between us two was short lived.

"If you guys will excuse me..." He trailed off as he followed after the senior member cheerleaders that had just walked by the three of us and looked a bit too long at Carl than was normal.

"Remind me again how that happened?" I asked and he shrugged in response.

"Lost the weight, got contacts, better meds, grew. Worked out well, I think." He replied before drinking from his cup.

"Apparently," I began. "You only did one of those things and look, you're nowhere near as lucky as he is."

"As did you and I don't really see you surrounded by a gaggle of suitors."

_Jerk._

"I am really going to enjoy having class with your lovely self for the next ten months, Neutron." I retorted, my voice dripping with sarcasm. But unfortunately, that was true. The being in class with him part, not the enjoying it.

As we are both the only real competition the other has for class valedictorian, we're taking every single AP class that Retroville High has to offer to ensure one of us gets the top spot. It'll be stressful, hectic, and I'm already thinking of how much sleep I'll be losing. But if it means beating Neutron at what he does best, it'll be all worth it. And I'm positive he's been thinking the same thing.

"But surely, not as much as I am." His breath tickled my neck since he had to get close to me so I could properly hear him. I noticed that insufferable, cocky grin of his as he pulled away and would have said something back if Britney hadn't come up to us just then.

"Hey, you two." She began, trying to talk over the loud music. "Umm, we were about to start a game of beer pong but we need a couple of more people. You in?"

"Err," I glanced over at Jimmy, who didn't look like he was about to answer. "I don't-."

"Sure." He spoke before I had a chance to. "Sounds like fun. Let's go." Britney nodded as she turned away and walked towards where the game was being played.

Just before he set out to follow her, he turned to me.

"Coming, Vortex?" I felt my lip pull upward in a half smirk as I followed the two of them.

I'm not much of a drinker. I mean, I'm not all uptight about it or anything like that. Drinking games just aren't really my thing which is why I was hesitant of playing in the first place. But hey, once in a while won't kill you, right?

We entered her dining room where the table was already set up with ten red plastic cups on each side.

"So we're playing boys versus girls." Britney began. I found that it was easier to hear her since the music was muffled in this room. "And since you two joined last, you'll have to go against each." I could hear the sympathy in her voice.

"Fine with me. Let's just hope Neutron can handle it." I saw him shake his head with a smirk on his face as he reached the other side of the table. Some of the guys who would be playing on his team were laughing too. But if it was directed at me or at him, I couldn't really tell.

"Vortex, you really do underestimate me, don't you?"

As I was opening my mouth to reply, Britney interjected.

"Okay, you two, don't start." She scolded like we were children and I knew she could tell that an argument would have begun if she hadn't said anything. Then turning to the crowd, all set and ready to go, she said, "Alright, let's begin!"

* * *

I'd be lying if I told you that the girls won that game. So naturally, we had to play again.

And again.

I would tell you what the results of those two other games were if I weren't so buzzed that I wasn't really paying attention.

To prevent the last game from getting boring, we played with something stronger than beer. A happy compromise, I think, seeing as Neutron and I were the only ones pushing for that third game.

After a not so devastating loss (for someone), the table was cleared and set up for Flip Cup or whatever it was called.

Neutron, trying to one me up as usual, joined in that activity as well as me. And it was somewhere between that and switching over to play Drink or Dare (as I dubbed it) that I realized we were both completely hammered. Now, we weren't the only ones. But when you successfully manage get the two most arrogant and proud brainiacs in the school who may or may not hate each other as much as they say they do drunk, people are going to notice. And more importantly, they're going to try to take advantage of it.

Which is exactly what Katelyn, a classmate of ours, is trying to do at the moment.

"Cindy." Holding out the 'S' sound in my name, she turned to face me with an excited smile. "Truth or dare?"

Not really caring about what I chose, I said, "Dare."

With a giggle, that should have already counted as a warning, she declared, "I dare you to kiss," in her drunk state, she made a show with her finger before pointing to the victim. And when I saw who it landed on, I froze. "Jimmy."

Instantly, I heard some people laughing although I really couldn't understand why.

"She won't do it, even though she wants to!" I heard someone say and could tell that some heads were nodding in agreement.

"Look at Neutron! He's pale as hell!"

I stole a quick glance at him and sure enough, that's exactly how he looked. He refused to make eye contact with me and I got the sense that he wanted out of this situation just as much as I did.

It's no secret that Jimmy and I have some sort of...thing. Whether it's good or bad is still up for debate. There are some things we need to work on, I know, and some things we have to share with and tell one another. But there's plenty of time for that. Not at this time, under these circumstances. Not with everyone talking about how it was 'about damn time' or 'finally'. Even though I've heard all this at school and even around town, it's not going to change our minds about when we're ready to have this surely long and heated meeting.

But not here. Not now.

A mixture of both humiliation and dizziness caused me to drop the cup I was holding and run out of the room and into the kitchen. I desperately hoped it was empty so I could be alone.

Glad to see that it was, I held my head in my hands as if that could relieve its ache and realized how dry my mouth was.

Water. I need water.

There was a red plastic cup on the counter in front of me. I picked up the cup and after noting that the liquid was clear, I drank from it. Instantly, I winced and coughed a few times. A little farther down the counter I saw a short bottle with a green ribbon around the neck. Bringing it closer, I noticed it said 'Tequila: Silver Patron' on the front.

_Great._

As I placed it back where I found it, I heard footsteps coming into the kitchen.

"Cindy? Are you okay?" Even with my back turned, I knew Neutron was there, trying to get my attention. "Don't-don't listen to them. Come on, I'll find someone to take you home", he slurred, knowing he was in no condition to take himself home, let alone me.

I could hear him behind me, but I didn't really want to listen. I wasn't turning around not only because I didn't want to to risk getting dizzy but also because I had no idea what to say.

Is that really what people think of me and Neutron? Two idiots that are completely ignorant about their attraction towards each other? The smartest kids in school and yet the stupidest? Are people really just waiting to see what we do next? Get into an argument in class, cause a scene in The Candy Bar, or finally just...hook up? Is that what it'll take to get everyone to just shut up about it? Is that what they want? Is that what I want?

Yeah. It is.

Grabbing the tequila bottle by its short neck for reinforcement, I turned to face him and spoke loud enough for him to hear.

"Come on."

He followed.

Knowing my way around Britney's house, I led him upstairs via a staircase in the back of the kitchen that was hidden unless you knew where to look. On the way upstairs, I took a couple of swigs from the bottle, hoping it would keep my courage up for what I was about to do.

When we reached the top of the stairs, I led him over to one of the guest bedrooms. With a hand on the doorknob, I faced him and held up the bottle, silently offering it to him.

Doing what I had hoped, he accepted it and took a long drink. As he was doing so, I opened the door and walked inside.

I thought about my current situation as he followed.

Did I want to do this? Yes. Is right now the best time? Probably not, but to be honest, it was bound to happen eventually. Does Neutron want to do this? He hasn't actually said anything, let alone stop me, but I would definitely take him locking the door behind him as a yes.

He stood in front of me, handing the bottle back. I took it and drank once more before I spoke with a courage that I know I wouldn't have had without the alcohol.

I looked into his eyes the entire time.

"You want this, don't you? You-you want me." I wasn't asking. More like confirming. "And...I want you too." He bit his lip at that and I found it nearly impossible to keep going. "We...probably won't remember it in the morning." I explained, as if he really needed more convincing. "And- " I kept going but noticed that he appeared to be getting closer to me. Either that or the room was closing in. "No one has to know." He was definitely getting closer. "If you prefer it that way."

"Okay." It was the first word he had spoken since we were down in the kitchen. But he was saying so much with it.

He was extremely close now. One more step and there would be no turning back. But I felt like I had to say one more thing.

"And also-."

"Shut up."

And then we were kissing.

But it wasn't just any kiss. It was deep and hungry. _Raw_ was probably the best word. We kissed like our lives depended on it and we were desperate to stay alive. We kissed with everything we had. It was as if we were making up for lost time.

When we made it to the bed, he was on top of me, close as can be but not putting all his weight on me. His lips moved to my neck as one of my hands clutched onto his hair while the other I used to try to lift his shirt up. He ran his free hand under my skirt and up my thigh, giving it a gentle, teasing squeeze before bringing it back around. He wasted no time running that same hand up my side and fondled my breast. At the same time, he licked the hollow spot behind my ear. All that caused me to let out a mewl that came out sounding a lot more eager than I meant it to.

"God Vortex, you are so fucking hot." He growled as I was able to wedge his shirt up a few inches higher. Just as I was pulling to remove it, he sat up, kneeled between my legs and did so himself. If it wasn't for him coming back down to kiss me again, I could have easily stared at his toned chest all night.

Suddenly, he rolled us over causing me to straddle him. I instantly liked this a lot more and I had a feeling he knew that I would. Noticing the smirk on his lips and not taking my eyes off his, I took off my shirt and instead of going for his lips, I began leaving wet kisses across every inch of his chest.

The movement caused me to rub up against him. I could feel him, right where I needed him most. Letting out a contented sigh, I continued grinding on him as I began sucking his neck.

"Holy crap." He said with a chuckle, as if he couldn't believe the situation we were in. And frankly, neither could I.

Impatiently, I climbed off him and moved my hands to his belt, my new objective being to remove his pants. Catching on, he reached down and started to help.

And that was when my phone rang.

It was in my wristlet, which had fallen to the carpeted floor along with the tequila bottle. The sound appeared foreign, like it shouldn't be here. And it really, _really _shouldn't.

"Just ignore it." I slurred as he sat up to kiss me, probably meaning to distract me.

Pulling away, I finished undoing his belt and pants and he lifted his hips to assist me in taking them off. All while the phone rang for a second time. Knowing this would ruin everything if it kept happening, I very reluctantly decided to go turn it off.

Walking over and seeing the caller ID nearly made me want to answer. Nearly.

"It's Libby." I said. He rolled his eyes, portraying what I was feeling. Thinking quickly, I thought of what to do. "I'll get rid of her."

"What?" He blinked, clearly confused.

"I'll get rid of her." I repeated while smoothing out my skirt. "It won't take long. Just-." I stumbled over to where he sat and kissed him again. "Wait here." I bit my lip as I pulled away, only imagining what we would get up to when I returned. "I'll be right back." I made my way out of the room, picking up his discarded shirt and putting it on since I was unable to find my own.

I headed down the stairs hoping I could find her quickly. And at the halfway point, she found me.

"Cindy!" She yelled, obviously angry. "Where the hell have you been? I've been calling you!" She motioned to my phone, which I was surprised to see was still in my hand.

"I-err-I." I fumbled, unable to get any words out.

"My God Cindy, you're completely trashed. Come on, let's get out of here." She grabbed my hand and began to turn around.

"No!" I pulled away.

"Cindy, I'm not fighting with you on this. We're leaving." She moved towards me again.

"You go. I'll just-."

"I am not going to leave you here like this. Come on!" She yanked my hand and pulled me down the rest of the stairs, ignoring my protests.

"But I- I promised... I told..." I tried to explain even though she couldn't hear me through the loud music.

Just before we left the building, I looked back at the stairs, my vision blurring out what I was leaving behind.

**Jimmy's POV**

What the hell?

I was lying on... whoever's bed this was with my arm covering my eyes, waiting for Vortex to come back. It felt like an hour had passed even though it probably wasn't that much. What the hell was taking her so long?

After a while, it really didn't seem like she would return. Don't know why I'm so surprised though. It's so typical of her to kill the mood.

I sat up and the room instantly started spinning. Rubbing my eyes as if that were the way of getting rid of it, I reached for my pants which were left on the floor at the foot of the bed. As I was pulling them back on, I noticed that I couldn't find my shirt anywhere.

Giving up on it, it occurred to me that all my friends had most likely left. I didn't hear much noise coming from downstairs which meant the party was dying down. Luckily, my phone was in my pocket and it only took me a second to think of the person to call that would ask the least amount of questions.

Pressing the correct speed dial and then 'send', I help the phone up to my ear and waited for an answer. Once I heard a voice on the other side, I spoke.

"Hey Carl? I know it's late but, I need you to come get me."

**So... there you go! Can you see why I'm so nervous about it? Please review if you can. Thanks so much for reading!**

**Oh, and happy one year (and one day) of publication anniversary to my story **_**Perfection**_**! You showed me the power and influence you guys can have because it was thanks to your awesome reviews that lead me to expand the story much more than originally planned. Hopefully that works again this time around? Happy New Year!**


	2. Chapter 2

**So I figured out what the problem was with uploading the first chapter. Seeing how long I've been a member of this site, I'm a little embarrassed that I didn't notice it before. Also, I went back and tweaked the first chapter a little bit and changed the rating, and if I'm being totally honest, yes, it was so I could get more readers. I'm proud of this story, I like where it's headed, and I want more people to notice it too. (If you read the first chapter originally, you don't need to go back and reread it. I've only changed a few words here and there.) And while I was changing a couple of things, I figured, why not post the second chapter while I'm here? So here it goes! Thank you for coming back to read and I hope you enjoy!**

**Cindy's POV**

My eyes hurt. If that were at all possible.

Or it could just be the lighting streaming in from the window.

Light. Sun. Morning.

Ugh.

I turned my head into the pillow, trying to avoid the ever-burning sun. Realizing that it couldn't be done, I turned back around with a groan.

"Oh good, you're up." I heard Libby's voice. "Here." She held out a tall glass of water. "I thought we had aspirin but we don't apparently. So, sorry about that."

"That's okay." I spoke groggily. She shouldn't be responsible for helping me anyway. I sat up before taking the glass from her. I drank nearly half of the cool water before I spoke again. "What time is it?"

"It's a little past eleven. You were asleep for a while there."

"Yeah." I said, unsure of how else to reply to that. "Did um- did my mom call? I'm sure she's worried."

"I called her actually." She started. "I told her the party was kind of lame so we decided to come back here and have a sleepover. You were going to let her know but you fell asleep so I informed her."

I blinked at her.

"Thanks." She really didn't have to do that.

"No problem." She answered with a wry smile. The tension in the room was weird. It was...awkward. Being lifelong best friends, a silence like this had never occured between us, so neither one of us had any idea how to end it. I drank some more of the water, hoping I would think of something.

"So are you going to tell me what happened last night?" She didn't ask it like she was curious, or even as a piece of gossip. It was more like, accusatory. Like a warden asking a prisoner if he was talking back to them even though they knew they were. She knew I had something to say, but she wanted me to say it.

I looked down at her comforter, truly embarrassed and ashamed of myself.

"Hey." I could hear her above me, sounding a bit more sympathetic than she had before. "I'm not going to judge you. You know I wouldn't do that. But we need to know what happened so we can make sure you aren't hurt. So whatever you remember, feel free to share.

"Umm..." I thought back to last night, even though most of it was choppy. I tried to focus on how I started drinking in the first place. "There was ...beer pong, that...cup flipping thing. Truth or dare. I...everything else is kind of blurry."

"Well," she cleared her throat before continuing. "You came from upstairs when I saw you. Any idea how you got there?"

I remember fully well how I got up there, if not anything else. But that didn't mean I had to tell her about it.

"The bathroom."

"Cindy," She scolded. She totally knew I was lying. By now I had looked up. But I couldn't look into her eyes without giving away everything I remembered. "You were with Jimmy last night, weren't you?"

"I- wha- what makes you say that?"

"Well, Sheen called me this morning saying Jimmy spent the night at Carl's after asking him to pick him up because he woke up in the middle of the night in a bedroom in Britney's house. Any idea what that could be about?"

I shrugged as if I really had no clue.

"Neutron got lucky last night?" Well, I wasn't totally off.

She gave me a look and I knew that I could no longer deny it.

"Alright, fine. Yes, I was with him." While she was pleased that I confessed, she still didn't look relieved.

"Cindy, I need you to answer my next question honestly." I already had a feeling to what it would be. "Did you have sex with Jimmy last night?"

"I don't know." I answered, because I truly didn't.

"You don't know? Are you kidd-?"

"Well, I don't think so okay?" I nearly yelled while I lifted the comforter off me and swung my legs to sit on the bed. "I- I'm not sore anywhere. Nowhere hurts apart from my head. Not the way it should after...that. You were sore after your first time, weren't you?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, well I'm not. So I really don't think I slept with him. I'm nearly positive."

"Alright." She was only dropping this for the time being. "Do you want to take a shower? No offense, but you look and smell kind of gross. I'm sure you don't want your mother to see you like this."

"Yeah." I agreed. "That would not be a good idea." Nodding, she turned and pulled open a drawer and took out two purple towels.

As she passed them to me, she said, "I'll set out some clothes for you and drive you home whenever you're ready."

"Okay, thanks." I gave her a warm, grateful smile as I turned away and walked towards her attached bathroom.

* * *

**Jimmy's POV**

"Dude, what happened?"

In walked Sheen and closed the door, although it felt like he were slamming it a thousand times over. The effects of this hangover were mainly a throbbing headache and a severely dry mouth so I was not up to doing much talking. I threw Carl a look, silently asking him to reiterate the story for me.

"Basically," Carl began. "what I told you on the phone. Jimmy got plastered at Britney's last night, called me at around one thirty so I could pick him up, then he spent the night here."

Confused, Sheen turned to face me. "Why the hell were you still there that late? I thought we all agreed to meet at midnight so we could leave. When I couldn't find you guys, I assumed you left."

I looked away, not really wanting to answer. I noticed that Sheen then turned to Carl, hoping he could respond.

"Well, I didn't want to be intrusive."

"Carl, you're his best friend. You're allowed to be included in what goes on in his life."

I let out a laugh at how Sheen mixed up the words.

"So come on, tell us." He nudged me and pulled up a chair to sit besides me.

"Tell you what?" I spoke for the first time since his arrival.

"The reason why you were there so late and had Carl go get you. You were with a girl, weren't you?" He raised his eyebrows suggestively.

I really don't give Sheen enough credit sometimes.

Looking sheepish, I didn't say anything, which of course constituted as an answer.

"Aw, man! I knew it!" He backslapped his own palm in excitement as he nearly jumped out of his seat. "Who was she?"

I could feel both my best friends' eyes on me, Carl now joining in on the curiosity.

"You really want to know?" Sheen responded with a nod while Carl simply blinked. I knew from the beginning that there was no getting out of it or lying about it.

"Cindy."

Sheen's eyes widened as if he were genuinely surprised that it was her. Carl turned the other way but I could have sworn I saw a trace of a smile on his face.

"Wait, as in Vortex? Your neighbor? The one you've been fighting with since the day you met?"

"Do you know another one?" I snapped, too impatient for his stupid questions.

"You-you slept with Cindy?"

"Well," I started less confidently. "I don't really know about that."

"How do you not know?" Carl was the one who spoke.

"I had a lot to drink. I don't remember much. But I don't think I did. We were, you know, fooling around for a bit. Then she- at one point, she got up and left. She never came back. After a while, I realized she wasn't coming back and called you." I gestured to Carl.

"Why did she leave?" Carl asked.

"I don't know. Her phone was ringing. It was probably her mom or something." I ran my hands through my hair again, my head still pounding.

"No, it was Libby." Sheen brought up.

"How do you know that?" Carl asked what we were both thinking.

"After you called me this morning, I called Libby and told her. She said that after she found Cindy after calling a bunch of times, she came from upstairs drunk. So now that you said that, I figured Libby was the one who called."

I shrugged, knowing it doesn't even really matter. I drank from the orange juice Carl had given me earlier as the silence in the room grew.

"So...what now?" Carl spoke. Putting the glass down on his bedside table and noticing the time on his alarm clock, I answered.

"I should get home. My parents are probably really worried."

"No, I meant with Cindy."

"Oh, well nothing, I guess." I started putting my shoes on.

"Don't you think you two should talk about this?" It was Sheen's turn to interrogate.

"What's the point? We're just going to end up arguing over what did or did not happen, trying to get the facts straight. Besides, I'd rather forget about it as I'm sure she would."

"So-so you don't think anything good came out of this?"

"Go-? No! Why would I think that?"

"Well, because given everything you guys have gone through, your past and all, there's not the smallest part of you that liked it?" Carl explained.

_This again._

I had to resist the urge to roll my eyes.

"Look." I faced the two of them. "I'm a guy. I'm going to like it, no matter what. The fact that it was Vortex just makes it an unfortunate coincidence. I suppose, if anything, I should be thankful that it was someone that I know and not someone random. Last night could have turned out very differently if it had been. I'm not going to talk to her because there's really no point. Is it going to be awkward the next time we see each other? Yes. But we'll get over it. We're mature enough to handle this rationally." At the end of my rant, I got up and moved past them.

"You know, for a genius, you say some pretty stupid things sometimes." I heard Sheen comment behind me. Just as I was turning around to defend myself, Carl stood by him.

"I think what Sheen is trying to say is that you can't just think of yourself in this. There's a very good chance that Cindy wants to talk about this just as much as you don't want to admit that you do. Now, we're not going to get into the whole you and Cindy thing, but, out of respect for her, you should talk to her."

"And we all know she's not the kind of girl you do that with and then pretend to forget about it." Sheen interjected.

I stood there, not knowing what to do but not saying anything either.

They're right, of course. It's completely illogical to just pretend this never happened even though it would make everything a lot easier. In a way, I guess you could say I'm worried about how this will affect Cindy and mine's relationship. I don't hate her. By no means is that true, no matter how many times I say it when we're arguing. I appreciate her being around, in fact. She's my adversary, in every possible way. I like it. I truly do. What happened last night simply deviated from the way we usually act. We've never gone, not even close, to that side of the spectrum of how two people interact. So I just think it'll be extremely difficult to cope with it and would much rather forget it. But Sheen and Carl are right. We can't just leave it like this.

"Alright, fine. I'll talk to her tomorrow. But only if she wants to. If she wants to forget about it and go about our normal lives, then that's the end of it. Agreed?" They both nodded. "Okay, then. Carl, thanks so much for everything. I appreciate it and I'll see you in school tomorrow." He nodded again with a smile. "Sheen, do you mind driving me home?"

"No problem, buddy."

* * *

**Cindy's POV**

"So your first class with Jimmy is coming up, right?" Libby asked when we approached my locker and I began dialing the combination. It was finally the long awaited first day of senior year and as much as I wanted it to be a great one, I knew that was easier said than done. What happened at Britney's could have been simple to forget had the other person involved not been in my first period class. Or nearly every class I have today, for that matter.

With a sigh that showed my clear dislike for that fact, I replied.

"Unfortunately."

"Are you going to go talk to him? About that?"

"No." was the obvious answer.

"No? Well, don't you think you should?"

"Actually, no. I don't." I replied, deciding to give no further explanation.

"Really?" She said sarcastically. "Because even though you were moments away from losing your virginity to him while you were drunk at a high school party, you can't think of one good reason why you should talk to him?"

"Would you keep your voice down please?" I asked while shutting my locker and turning to walk in the opposite direction, hoping no one had heard her.

"I really think you should." She shared her opinion while trailing behind me.

"Why?" I replied, half curious and half knowing she wouldn't let this go until I heard her out.

"Because," She grabbed my arm and turned me around. "Whether you want to admit it or not, this is big. Huge even. This is a step in the right direction, no matter how...unconventionally it was taken. If it was anyone other than Jimmy, you would insist on talking to him, at least to clear things up."

"Well, thank you for thinking of me in that way." She replied with one of her famous stern looks. "Okay look, I agree that there should be some sort of clarification, but that doesn't mean-."

"Cindy?"

I saw Libby's eyes widen slightly before I turned around and saw why.

"Neutron." I said as neutrally as I could. He gave me a weak smile as he turned to greet Libby. I took this half second to look at him.

He appeared... anxious. His hair stuck out a bit more than usual, as if he had run his hand through it one too many times.

"So um," I heard him say as he turned back to me, "do you have a minute?" Libby cleared her throat, being way too obvious, and excused herself. Knowing there was no getting out of it, I sighed and waited for him to speak. "So about the other night-."

"Hold on." I held up a hand and led him to the wall where our conversation could be a bit more private. Or as private as it could be in a high school hallway filled with nosey teenagers. Once we were as out of earshot as we could be, he continued. "I just wanted to let you know that right now is not the best time or place to have this conversation, but we do need to have it." He sounded a hell of a lot more confident now, like someone had kicked some courage into him on the walk over here.

"I agree." I said with a nod, even though I still wasn't entirely sure about it.

"Okay, good. Are you available today after school?" I nodded quickly, like if I breathed a word, the entire Retroville High population would find out what had happened. "Alright, so come to the lab at four." I nodded again. "You know, when we meet, this is not going to be a one sided conversation."

I rolled my eyes.

"I'll see you at four, Neutron." I confirmed as I turned and decided to take the long way to the my first class to avoid seeing Neutron any longer than necessary.

**I really liked writing that scene with Jimmy, Sheen, and Carl. In all my JN stories, I don't have a scene with just the three of them so it was a nice change. Thanks for reading and please review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**I just wanted to take this time to thank you guys so much for the lovely reviews you've sent. I appreciate every word. You guys are so, SO great and I'm really glad you're liking the story. **

**Also! I've decided to cast Britney. Not because she'll be an important character later on in the story (in fact, I don't **_**think**_** we'll be seeing much more of her after this chapter), but because her party started the whole ordeal, and that seems pretty important, if you ask me. So for Britney, I've got AnnaSophia Robb, blonde, bubbly, and beautiful.**

**Cindy's POV **

"Why do you keep looking around?" Libby asked after noticing my wandering eyes. The first day of senior year was nearly halfway over and it was now time for lunch. And if we're being totally honest, I couldn't be happier. The gossip trail seems to have started as swiftly as the school year did and it's for that reason I'm relieved at its hasty passing. The main topic of information is, as expected, Britney's party and all that happened at it. And I fear that that may also include what occurred behind closed doors.

"Have you heard anything?" I asked without answering her question to me.

"Err..." She responded to my extremely vague question.

"About that night? Me and Neutron?" I asked as I continued looking around suspiciously

"Oh." She laughed. "No, I haven't."

"Why did you laugh?"

"Because it's funny that you're being so paranoid about this."

"I am not. I'm just being cautious." I fought back. With a sigh, she continued.

"No, Cindy. No one is talking about you and Jimmy hooking up the night of Britney's party." I shushed her at that last part. "In fact, I don't think anybody knows apart from the five of us."

"Five?" I asked, no longer looking around but instead focused on who the other two people are.

"You, Jimmy, me, Sheen, and Carl. I told you he was at Carl's and that Sheen went over after he called me. Surely, Jimmy told them what happened between you two."

"And how do we know that they aren't going to go telling the whole school? Carl and Sheen don't exactly have the best track record of keeping their mouths shut."

"Have a little fate, Cin. You know they wouldn't do that. Not for something this big." I shrugged as we made our way onto the lunchroom and got in line for food.

Once we had it, it was nearly impossible to make our way to our usual table without hearing people chattering away. An obvious look of annoyance showed on my face, not because they were talking about Britney, but because of how in-depth and specific their conversations could potentially get. Libby, of course, noticed.

"Cindy, relax. I'm sure not everyone is talking about the party. Remember that it's the first day of school. People are going to be buzzing with excitement all day. For some, like us, this is their last first day of high school ever. Calm down."

I wasn't really able to respond because right as Libby finished speaking, the boys came to sit with us.

"Ladies." Sheen said as a greeting while going over to kiss Libby on the cheek and then taking a seat besides her. Carl sat besides me and Neutron next to Sheen, making him and I sit on opposite ends of the table in every sense of the word. Although this is not the first (or second) time I've see him today, it doesn't appear that we'll actually communicate until later on, when we planned to. It's not that I've done a good job of ignoring him, it's that we've done an excellent job of avoiding each other. Then again, the grudges we've endured throughout the years when we refuse to speak to each other have prepared us for this.

"So what were you guys talking about?" Sheen asked.

Even though I knew Libby wouldn't say anything, I didn't want to run the risk of Neutron misinterpreting what she does says into something he thinks I may be worried about. So I answered Sheen's question.

"Oh, you know, just girl stuff." I threw him a tight and unconvincing smile. Luckily, Libby nor anyone else said anything and instead the conversation was moved to how the first day of school was going so far.

About ten minutes later, Britney came by and stopped at our table.

"Hey guys!" The five of us had distinct ways of greeting her, with mine being the grumpiest, despite my best efforts. "I just wanted to thank you all for coming the other day. I was actually worried no one would show up but I think it went really well. Did you guys have fun?" A mix of 'yeah' and nods and 'it was fun's went through the five of us while Britney smiled happily. "Good to hear. Well, thanks again. I'll see you guys around!" She left quickly after saying goodbye.

Our conversations continued with Neutron and I managing to not make any form of contact. I was really appreciative of Libby as well as Sheen and Carl for not questioning our silence towards each other or pushing for us to talk. It seems that she was right about those two when it came to their understanding of this matter.

With the lunch period over and Jimmy, Sheen, and Carl already headed to their next classes, Libby and I were left alone. As we were walking down the hallway to our own classes, she asked me what I know she's been waiting to since this morning.

"So how did your conversation with Jimmy go this morning? I was going to ask during lunch but I got the sense that it wasn't the best time to bring it up."

"You were right about that. I'm going down to the lab today at four so we can talk."

"Oh. Do you want to come over after? Tell me how it went?"

"I can't. I'm going to karate after that. Besides, I doubt there'll be much to report on. We'll probably just end up arguing over who kissed who first but agree that it was the biggest mistake of our lives."

"Uh Huh."

"Not going to lie though, it was kind of strange not talking all day. Kind of makes me wish our conversation was over already so that there would be zero awkwardness between us and we could go about our lives as usual." I ended with a light laugh. Libby smiled, but I could tell how strained it was.

"Well, I better head to history so..." She trailed off and pointing her thumb back down the hall where her class was.

"Yeah and I cannot be late for AP Calc. I'll see you tomorrow." We hugged before parting ways.

* * *

Even though I told Libby earlier how much I wanted to get this discussion with Neutron over with, now that the hour has finally arrived, it is the last thing I want to do. I even stayed after school today to talk to some teachers hoping to distract me from going over there. But I eventually came around and got to the task at hand. As much as I was hesitant about meeting, I understood how important this was.

However, that didn't stop me from wringing my hands and taking deep breath as I was walking across his backyard towards the clubhouse entrance.

What I couldn't figure out is why. Why am I so...nervous for this? It wasn't like I didn't accurately describe the outcome of this to Libby and myself earlier. I mean, there's no reason to be nervous about this. It's only Neutron, for crying out loud!

Once I approached the shed, I waited until the camera got a shot of me, signaling Neutron that I had arrived. I didn't even try the intercom since I knew he was expecting me. Bracing myself, I waited for the infamous 'Welcome' mat to pop open under me and slide me into the lab.

Seconds later, I landed on the floor with a thud and I noticed Neutron get out from his computer chair to come help me up.

"When are you going to come up with a safer way to let people in?" I asked already a bit annoyed, while I brushed the dirt off my dress.

He shrugged. "Someday."

"You've been saying that for years."

"Are we really going to argue about this?"

"Sorry." I said as I walked over and put my bag down on a table. Not entirely sure how to start talking about the real reason why I was here, I turned around slowly. I know that he knew me well enough to tell how anxious I was about this.

"So," he began, thankfully taking the growing uncomfortable tension away. "do you want to start?"

"Umm, I don't really know what to say." I answered honestly.

"Yeah, neither do I." He said as he rubbed the back of his neck.

So much for getting rid of the awkward tension.

"I don't think that's ever happened before. Has it?" He looked up at me when I was finally able to find some words. "Not _that._ I know that hasn't happened. I meant us drinking. At the same time. Together."

"Yeah, no. I don't think that's ever happened." He affirmed and I replied with a simple nod.

After a couple more uncomfortable moments of silence, Neutron spoke up.

"I guess we should try to think back and figure out who's idea it was. Not the drinking. The- the..."

"Kissing."

"Yeah."

"Okay." I answered, happy that we finally had something to go on. "Well, I think it's safe to say that even though we both were... participants in what occurred that night, we know that the to blame is you." I looked at him when I finished. It was as if I had stunned the life out of him. And because of that, he was unable to reply. "What?" I said, hoping he would come back.

"Why would you say that? It sure as hell isn't true." He finally answered.

"Well, of course it is, Jimmy. Clearly, you're the one that provoked it. What, do you think I would just fall into bed with you like that?" I snapped my fingers.

"I don't think it, I know it. You're the one that proposed it."

"Just how are you so sure about that? You had as much to drink as I did."

"Maybe, but since I'm a guy and can hold my liquor better, I remember more."

"And since you're the guy, how do we know you weren't just trying to take advantage of me in the state I was in?"

"I wouldn't exactly say I was the one taking advantage if you were on top most of the time. Surely, you can remember _that._" And that shut me up. I _was_ the one that got off him to get the phone. "Besides, you know I wouldn't do something like that." I could hear the slightly hurt tone in his voice.

"Sorry." A silence fell over the room making it clear that by fighting about this, we were getting nowhere. "Look," he turned and faced me. "Obviously, the way we're approaching this is not helping. Let's just agree that it was one of those heat of the moment things that we're glad ended where it did. It doesn't even matter who started it, because the important thing is that someone ended it."

"Alright." He nodded.

"Good." I turned around to get my backpack while I mumbled, or so I thought, another thing I wanted to say. "Because I would not have wanted my first time to be with you while I was drunk."

"You're a virgin?" He asked, sounding genuinely surprised.

"And what the hell is that supposed to mean?" I threw my bag back down on the table.

"Why do you take everything I say as an insult?" He turned towards me.

"Because most of the time, it is!" I faced him.

"Well, in this case, it's not! I'm just surprised is all."

"Yeah, I got that. Why is that so shocking, if you don't mind me asking?"

"You- well. Vortex, you're not exactly..." I cocked an eyebrow, extremely curious to what he was going to say. "I just mean- you're not...difficult to look at." He ended weakly as I let out a scoff.

"I know. You said that to me that night."

"So you do remember what happened!"

"Only bits!"

He scoffed this time. "Well, lucky me that you remember that."

"Oh, please you're lucky any of that even happened. You loved it."

"I didn't exactly hear you complaining throughout any of it, Vortex."

"How terribly unfortunate that it will never happen again." I replied sarcastically.

"For once, we can agree!" He bit back.

Annoyed beyond hell, I grabbed my stuff and headed towards the exit, not even bothering to say good-bye.

* * *

**Jimmy's POV**

"It wasn't horrible, you know." I said hoping she it would catch her attention. Luckily, she stopped. "What happened that night. You're err...assertive. I'll give you that."

She turned back around and this time I found myself hoping that she wouldn't say anything negative.

"You're...very healthy." She replied shortly after. I chuckled while a grin began forming on my face. "Being down here with this heavy equipment all the time has its benefits, I see."

"Yeah." I whispered in agreement. Silence engulfed us, and I really hoped she would say something because after those declarations, I'm not sure how we can be kept calm. Before I even realized what was happening, however, I was opening my mouth to speak. "It... wouldn't be a terrible thing... if it were to happen again. This time sober, of course."

Why in Einstein's name did I say that?

She gave me a look that I rarely saw from her: one of confusion and incomprehension. Her brows furrowed and she looked at me suspiciously. It was almost as if she wanted to make sure she heard me correctly. It stayed like that for a while. A while that was way too long to be considered normal. She didn't turn and leave though, which I only interpreted to mean that she was thinking about what I said.

"Do-do you mean like kiss and stuff? Again?"

"Yeah." I said coolly with a shrug of my shoulders, not wanting to freak her out. "I mean, nothing serious. Just, you know, whenever we have the urge to, we'll just call up the other. We'll meet up and then we'll both be satisfied." I noticed the look of recognition as well as the twitch in her lip when she seemed to understand.

"You mean like, and forgive me for using this word if you don't think it applies to us, but like, friends with...benefits?"

"I suppose the word 'friends' is a bit too specific, but if there's no other way of putting it, then yes. Like friends with benefits." She stayed quiet, similar to the last pause, and I wished that this wasn't going to happen every time she was confused or didn't believe something I said.

"Are you being serious?" She said this so abruptly, I couldn't hold back the laugh that escaped me.

"Yes. I wouldn't say it if I weren't."

Nodding slowly, like she were really thinking about what to say this time, she paused again. Only now, I found that I was anxious to hear her answer.

"I- I just don't... I don't think that it's a good idea. Given our past, and our present even, I don't think it would work. I don't see much good coming out of it." I blinked, listening to her response but not entirely sure if I was buying it. "Besides, if the other night was any sort of indication, we both know you won't be able to control yourself around me."

It was my turn to be confused now.

"Is that so?" I asked as I took a step forward.

"Mmm Hmm." She stood her ground and nodded. I smiled, as if I was just now realizing something, only I was really doing it to tease her.

"Or maybe the reason you don't want to is because you know _you_ won't possibly be able to keep your hands off of me." She turned away, but even then I knew I had her.

"Alright, Neutron," She said with a slight scowl on her face. "if we're going to do this, we're going to do this right. We need to set some ground rules."

"Isn't the whole point of friends with benefits to not have any rules? Be careless? No strings attached?"

"Not rules, per se. More like...boundaries. So we know what we can and cannot do." She tried her best to explain. And it wasn't good enough because I was still confused.

"If you say so, Vortex." I said nonetheless.

"Okay, rule number one." I rolled his eyes at her use of the word 'rule' even though she just said they weren't that.

"Before you begin, would you like Goddard to keep a record of your 'rules'? Just in case?" I interrupted.

"Uh sure. This isn't going to be hard to forget, but sure. If you want." I glanced and nodded at Goddard, who barked in reply.

"You were saying?"

"Rule number one," She continued. "we don't tell anybody. Nobody needs to know about this. It's our thing so it should be kept our little secret."

"I agree."

"This means you can't tell Carl or Sheen." She said, as if I needed the clarification.

"And you can't tell Libby." I replied.

"That's right."

"Okay."

"Okay."

"But what if someone finds out?" I asked as soon as it occurred to me.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, we can only be so careful. What if someone catches us or sees us through a window or something like that and we hear about it? What then?"

"I suppose," She began turning red, probably at the prospect of us actually getting caught. "that we'll just have to be extra cautious. This way nobody finds out and any talk of it will quickly die down."

"That seems logical." I admitted while nodding. We had successfully agreed on the first rule and it surprised me that we had done so without arguing about it.

"Number two," She began.

"If I may, can I make a suggestion?" I thought of this one quickly and figured that it would definitely be the best one."If either one of us meet someone whom we are interested in, then you and I are done. We won't allow...this," I gestured to the space between us. "to interfere with any new romantic relationship we want to pursue. Sound good?"

"Sounds great. I'll definitely agree to that." She seemed enthusiastic about this one, likely because of how smart she knew it was.

"Alright then. Anything else?"

"Yes. Just one more and this is the most important one Neutron, so listen up." I gave her my full attention. "You are not, by any means, to fall in love with me."

I let out a laugh that came out louder than I meant it to be.

"Or you with I, Vortex." I replied as I walked towards her.

"Believe me, that's not going to happen." She came up to me as well.

"And I guarantee it won't happen on my part." I stepped even closer.

"Good." She grinned.

"Good. That settles it then." I smiled back.

"Looks like it."

"So when would you like to start?" I stood incredibly close now. Me being taller than her, she had to slightly tip her head back in order to look at me properly.

"How about right now?" And with that, she shoved me with enough strength that I fell backwards onto the couch. She immediately straddled me and crashed her lips to mine while I held on to her hips.

Immediately, I could tell that this kiss was different than our last one. So much more, and it wasn't just because of the lack of alcohol in our systems. It was more controlled yet relaxed. Slow but building pace. I ran my tongue along her bottom lip, asking for entrance, and she accepted without hesitation. That seemed to calm her, as she now relaxed herself on my lap instead of holding herself up.

I wrapped my arms around her waist, bringing her closer, which she responded to by running her hands from my chest to around my neck. I massaged her tongue softly, not wanting to rush anything. She let out a low moan and tilted her head to the side, deepening our kiss.

We remained locked in each other's embrace for a few minutes. I really couldn't tell how many had passed. It wasn't until she pulled away that I realized how out of breath the two of us were.

While gathering it, we looked at each other, and I think I speak for the both of us when I say it was a look we had never exchanged before.

"I...I have to go." She spoke while keeping her gaze on me. "I have karate in a bit." Cindy explained.

"Okay." I replied with a slight nod and released her. She nodded in return and moved to climb off me. When she got her things, she turned to face me. As I got up, she spoke.

"I'll see you tomorrow then."

With a smile, I replied. "Yeah. Tomorrow." With another nod, she turned and walked towards the automatic doors leading to the lab's exit.

What the hell have we gotten ourselves into?

**Well, that was something. Please review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**I love that some of you are predicting what's going to happen. No one's got it spot on though which is good, otherwise I'd feel that I failed as a writer by giving everything away so easily. I'm very happy you guys are enjoying and thanks so much for the support. Oh, and in case you can't tell, the italics are a flashback.**

**Jimmy's POV**

It's been about six weeks since Cindy and I set up our arrangement. I have to admit, it's going quite well. We don't meet every day, only about three or four times a week. We usually meet in the lab, since it's the most private place we've got. My parents are used to me being down here a lot so it's not much of a concern, unlike Cindy's case. I suppose she tells her parents she's hanging out with Libby or staying late after school to talk to teachers. I don't know. I've never asked.

We've kept our word about keeping this between the two of us. This turned out to be pretty easy seeing as we are spending most of our time with each other.

In a completely strange turn of events, straight out of the Twilight Zone, this whole friends with benefits thing has ended up turning us into actual...friends. I can tell, even though we've never outwardly said it. We've been more friendly, less argumentative. We've even started calling each other by our first names regularly.

It pretty much started right before she left the lab one day.

"_Ohhh..." She moaned as I nibbled on her neck, an act I quickly learned she enjoyed very much. She tangled her fingers in my hair, both playing with it and signaling me to kiss her. As I did so, she opened her mouth slightly and we kissed with an eagerness that I noticed happened often. With my hand on her waist, she wrapped her arms around me, hugging me closer. _

_This was more or less how it's been going for the past three weeks._

_Sometimes I'm on top, peppering her collarbone with kisses and sliding my hands up and down her body. Sometimes she's on top, knees on either side of me and sucking my earlobe. Usually we're lying on the couch in the lab, and I finally realize how much I've outgrown it. When we're really impatient, we're up against the wall, although that doesn't last long due to how uncomfortable it gets. Only once have we gone up to my bedroom. It was about a week ago, when both my parents happened to be out._

_In terms of the popular and varying term, bases, that's the farthest we've gone, the very first time at Britney's house notwithstanding. While she lay on my bed, I undid the first few buttons of her blouse and kissed the tops of her breasts and even went as far as taking one of them in my mouth over her bra. When she let out a pleasurable moan unlike any she had produced with me, she wrapped her legs around my waist and rocked into me once. It was enough to make it noticeable for me and for her to realize that that's where we should stop. _

_And that's similar to what's happening in the present. A few minutes later, she pulled away and we both understood the unspoken gesture that we were done for the day. As she fixed her hair, preparing to leave, she spoke. _

"_Oh, I wanted to ask you this before I left. Do you at all understand how Mr. Ward was explaining yesterday's lesson? I was trying to do the homework last night..." She trailed off and reached down into her bag and pulled out the AP chemistry textbook we use for class. Cindy flipped the page to where I noticed she had it bookmarked and scooted closer to me._

"_So maybe it's just me but I cannot understand this." Passing me the book, I noticed it was open to the middle of the chapter on this week's lesson. Cindy didn't turn to look at me probably because of what she had done. She wasn't asking for help, as we both knew she would never use those words, but she was definitely insinuating that we should take a look at it._

_I'm not going to lie, it was nice._

_We were sitting here talking about school, working together civilly. No fighting, no arguing. Just a nod of understanding or a confused brow furrow here and there. I was helping her, an act she would deny if you said it to her. She wasn't yelling, telling me I was wrong or calling me names at how much information I knew about the topic. _

_Something had happened between us. A new development in our relationship. And if I was right in identifying it, which I usually was, then our friends with benefits thing was now actually making sense by definition. _

_I had no plans in asking her why she had asked for my assistance or even making a comment on it. But as she was packing up her things to leave, I really couldn't hold it back._

"_So what was up with that?"_

"_What?" She said as she zipped up her backpack._

"_The not understanding the chemistry lesson. Usually you would never let me find out if you couldn't grasp something related to school."_

_She shrugged as if it was really no big deal. "I was having trouble and I know you know. Given how close we are lately, I figured it would be okay if I asked for your..." She stopped herself before she could say the word. "advice." And that was as close as I was going to get._

"_Well, I hope my advice worked." She smiled, noticing what I was doing._

"_It did. Thank you."_

"_You're welcome. I suppose we can expect more of that now that we're friends."_

"_Friends?" She turned to face me, speaking as if she had never heard of the word before._

"_Yeah, friends." I said to test her, knowing that she was just playing around._

"_We're friends?" This time she asked as if she truly wasn't aware of it. I chose my next words very carefully. _

"_I like to think so, yes. And now I guess we're study partners as well."_

"_Huh. Friends." She said, still caught up on it, like she was trying it out for the first time ever. "I suppose we are friends now, aren't we?" I nodded._

"_Friends who like to do this." I kissed her unexpectedly and she quickly returned it._

_Fifteen minutes later, with her hair disarrayed yet again and my hair not doing much better, we sat up, and she prepared to leave for real this time._

"_So we're study partners now too, huh? Don't think I didn't hear what else you said." She asked as she was standing up to go._

"_Yeah, we are. If that's okay with you."_

"_Of course. With how difficult these classes are going to get, we'll need it. So is there any way I can return the favor you so graciously gave me today?"_

_I thought for a second._

"_Well, I'm not entirely too fond of our good friend Shakespeare at the moment."_

"_You don't like Macbeth?" She sounded extremely surprised._

"_You can't like something you don't understand, Cindy."_

"_Oh my God..." She shook her head jokingly. "Alright. Tomorrow I'm going to come over, same time as usual, and we'll go over the entire play, what we've read so far, step by step. Or I guess in this case, it's scene by scene and act by act."_

_I smiled gratefully. "Sounds awesome."_

_She confirmed with a nod. "I'll see you tomorrow." Those were her final words before she slung her backpack over her shoulder and left._

True to our word, we've been meeting up ever since then and doing more than fulfilling our hormonal satisfaction.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not complaining about the development in our relationship. It's just a strange experience. And it's even weirder, I'm sure, to see it.

Unlike our arrangement, we're not hiding the fact that we've become friends. We sure haven't made a spectacle about it, but we're aware that people are noticing. With us laughing and talking about school or what our weekend plans are, it would be impossible for others, primarily Sheen, Carl, and Libby, to not notice.

I've seen the looks they throw our way or to each other, silently asking if the other knows what's going on. Cindy has too. But, for some reason, none of them have ever posed questions. We both take this to mean that while confused of its origin and development, they were, at the very least, accepting of our friendship.

Which is why I was surprised when I saw Libby standing under the threshold of my film class, one of the two that I don't have with Cindy, right as everyone left and I was the last person remaining in the room. I rarely ever see Libby without Cindy or even Libby without Sheen, but even though there's nothing uncomfortable about seeing her alone, I didn't really understand why.

"Libby. Hey." She smiled politely at me. "Um, Cindy's not in this class and I don't have any with Sheen-."

"I know, I know." She held up her hand showing that she was understanding. "I'm here to talk to you actually."

Oh?

"Um sure." I said awkwardly, not really knowing where she was going with this. "So what's up?"

"I'm just going to keep this short and jump straight to the point: What's going on between you and Cindy?"

And that would explain how our friends were taking our new development.

"What do you mean?" I replied, pretending I really had no idea what she was talking about.

"You know what I mean." She gave me a look. "You two have been very... friendly, nice even, to each other lately. It's... a little off, to be totally honest. You don't fight or argue anymore. It's kind of creeping us out a little bit."

"You, Sheen, and Carl?"

"Yeah. So what's up with that?"

I shrugged, not really knowing what to say. I certainly wasn't going to tell her about the arrangement Cindy and I had, only that we had become friends. But it didn't seem like she would believe that.

"We're just friends now. Don't see why that's so weird."

"Because it's the two of you. You've known each for years. You have had all this time to become friends. So why now? What caused it?"

"We're growing up, I guess. Time to let go of our childish past and move on." I thought on the spot, but quickly realized how plausible that actually sounded. It didn't seem to be good enough for her though, since she gave me a look that said that that wasn't the answer she was hoping for.

"Look, I don't want to pressure you into telling me anything you're not comfortable with, but would this have anything to do with what happened at Britney's party?" She asked somewhat hesitant. Libby's a good person. I've never had a problem with her of any kind and being my best friend's girlfriend means I have some sort of a bond with her too. So even though I know she means well, I have to be honest in saying that she needs to mind her own business.

"No offense, Libby, but I'd rather not talk to you about that." I started to walk towards the door which only resulted in her standing in front of it to prevent me from leaving.

"I figured that. But after talking to Sheen and Carl about it, we decided that it would be best if I talked to you. They wouldn't get anything out of you because you'll just shrug it off and think nothing of it and they'll just accept that. So we thought that maybe if I talked to you, you'd be more open about what's going on with you two. Same with Cindy. Carl and Sheen are on their way to talk to her right now."

"That's going to go well." I replied sarcastically.

"We're just concerned. You're finally getting along and we're happy about that. But as your friends, I think even you can agree that we have some sort of right to know how." She explained.

"Well, sorry to disappoint you but there's not much to it. It doesn't take some miracle for two people to become friends."

"It does for the two of you."

The last thing I wanted to do was get into an unnecessary argument with Libby over this, even though a small part of me knew she was right.

"It's funny." I started, hoping this statement would be the end of this conversation. "You're one of the people who wanted me and Cindy to be friends more than anything. And now that it's happened, you're questioning it? Doesn't_ that_ seem a little off to you?" She looked dejected and I knew that she had given up. Without another word, I walked past her and out into the hallway.

* * *

**Cindy's POV**

If I thought I was the slightest bit crazy back when I agreed to Neutron's plan, it's nothing compared to how I feel now that we've been at it for six weeks.

I'd be a liar for saying I wasn't enjoying it, because what other reason would I have for going down to the lab nearly four times a week? I suppose there is the whole now we're study buddies thing, but that didn't start until three weeks later. In general though, and I'll deny it if he ever found out I think this, this might be one of his better ideas.

After the events of Britney's party, I didn't really know what to think. I had never been in a situation like that before, let alone with Neutron. Libby, knowing when to back off, didn't prod me about the actual details of it anymore than the morning after but being my best friend, I knew she was the one I wanted to talk to the most. Talk about what though, I don't exactly know.

I suppose there is a reason why I winded up half naked in bed with Jimmy of all people, and it wasn't only because I was dared to kiss him. Looking back on it, I do have a slight fear of what would have happened had Libby not interrupted us. What I don't like to think about is the consequences of that.

Apart from the day we set our friends with benefits boundaries, we haven't talked about that night. It's almost as if it didn't happen even though it was the whole basis for us starting this arrangement in the first place.

But it did happen. I'll never forget it.

The good thing that came out of it, I would say, is this newfound friendship with Jimmy. I mean, we wouldn't exactly be friends with benefits if we weren't really friends, would we? But I suppose it is about time we put our differences aside and spend our time doing something progressive to our relationship.

I was a little surprised when he mentioned it three weeks ago, but I was genuinely happy that he did. And if I'm being honest, this studying and doing schoolwork together thing is helping tremendously. Even though it does seem to be freaking out our friends.

Sure, we haven't made a big proclamation about Jimmy and mine's friendship, but I know people can tell. Libby, Sheen, and Carl, the friends closest to us, are surely the most curious. I can tell by the looks they give each other and they've no doubt talked about it when Jimmy and I aren't around. But since they haven't asked anything, Jimmy and I felt no need to offer an explanation.

And that seemed to be the way it was going to be until I opened the gym doors as I was leaving class and saw Sheen and Carl leaning against the wall.

"What do you two doing here?" I asked as I approached them. "I don't think Libby would be happy that you're trying to peep into the girls' locker room, Sheen. And Carl, I know you have somewhat of a reputation, but I expected better from you."

"We're here to talk to you, Cindy." Carl ignored me and said.

"And just what is so important that it couldn't wait until I've had a shower?"

"We'll keep this short." Sheen spoke this time. "What's up with you and Jimmy?" I was immediately confused and I'm sure my face showed it.

"What makes you think anything's up with me and Jimmy?"

"That! That right there!" Sheen jumped and point at me as if I had said something wrong.

"What?" I said, annoyed.

"You called him by his name." Carl explained calmly.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I wasn't aware I need written consent from him to do that. Shall I go get him?" I took a step away to which they crossed their arms and stood in my way. "What do you think? That by cornering me you're going to get an answer? Move."

"Not until you tell us why you and Jimmy have been getting along so well lately."

"Same reason you do. We're friends."

"But why? How? What happened?" Carl pressured.

"Well, I guess after a while, we didn't mind seeing each other all the damn time. That work for you?"

"Not really." Sheen said.

"It's just a little strange, Cindy." Carl continued. "One day, you two can barely stand being in the same room and the next, you're laughing like old friends with a big secret." I perked up at him using the word 'secret', with a sliver of fear running through me. "So as your friends, we have a right to know what's going on. If it at all has something to do with what happened at Britney's party-." He did not get to finish that sentence.

"Look," I said, starting to get angry. "that's not something you mention out loud. Ever. If Jimmy told you what happened, that's because he trusts you two and he wouldn't want you to speak a word of it to anyone. Even to me. Now, I'll admit that I have the tiniest bit of appreciation for your concern but you really need to mind your own business. Jimmy and I are friends now, no explanation needed. You know, for two people who've wanted him and I to stop fighting for years, you don't seem all that pleased that it's finally happened." I looked at the two of them and I could tell that they done trying to get something out of me. "Are we good?"

I noticed the two of them nod their heads and they stepped to the side, allowing me to walk through. I did just that without looking back at them.

**Kind of a lengthy author's note, so bare with me. Or skip to the last paragraph where I have an important message. **

**So it's not that I don't care about Jimmy and Cindy's educations, but I really don't want to go into the details of what they learn in their AP classes, mainly because I have no idea what they would learn in the majority of them. And believe it or not, searching online for information is really not as easy as it may seem. So forgive me if I casually and not-so-cleverly glaze over that with only brief mentions and especially if I sound ignorant at any point.**

**Secondly: I know. Friends with benefits do not hang out for purposes apart from getting the job done. Nor is it meant to make them closer. But the relationship between these two goes far beyond that, we know it does. It will never be 'just' something with them. There's always something more.**

**So I also have an announcement. Earlier this week, I started the spring semester. So since I'll be busy with school, I'm sorry to say that updates will be less frequent. To be honest, I am really surprised that I got out this many chapters in this short amount of time. Thank you guys for understanding and hopefully you don't forget about me! Hoped you enjoyed this chapter and please review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Well, that didn't take long at all. The semester hasn't gotten hectic yet and with having a couple days off due to the snowpocalypse blizzard that actually wasn't, I wrote this. As always, I hope you enjoy! **.

**Jimmy's POV**

"You are never going to believe what happened yesterday." Cindy said as she got up from the mattress I set out for her to land on and began walking towards me.

"Carl and Sheen confronted you after class and asked what was going on with us." She looked at me, shocked. "Libby did the same to me."

"You're kidding! I was with her earlier. She never mentioned a word." She said as she accepted and opened the Purple Flurp I offered her.

"Probably because of how badly it went. I told her that we're now friends and to not worry about how or why it happened but the important thing is that it did."

"I said more or less the same to them. Only I was probably more aggressive about it than you were."

"I'm sure you were." I replied, sipping from my own can. She leaned against the table as I was doing.

"Did um- did she mention that Britney's party could be a reason for it?" Cindy asked somewhat nervously. It took me a few seconds to realize why. Apart from the day we made our agreement, we've never spoke about the events of that party.

"Yeah." I started slowly. "She asked if it might have anything to do with why we're so close lately."

"And what did you say?" She turned to face me.

"That I would rather not to her about that." I looked at her.

"Same." She nodded. "Only when Carl mentioned it, I put him, and by extension Sheen, in his place. That they can't talk about that in public. It's...it's done. It shouldn't be brought up again." She said those words, but something about her delivery made it sounds as if she wasn't entirely sure of what she said.

After a moment of silence, Cindy let out a gasp, as if she had suddenly remembered something.

"Carl did say something that seemed a little suspicious."

"What?"

"He said -and I'm paraphrasing here- that now it's like we're old friends with some big _secret._" I definitely noticed her emphasis on that last word.

"Well, that's an oddly specific choice of word.."

"You haven't said anything, right? Even the slightest thing that would give it away?"

"Absolutely not. We agreed."

"I know. I know." She then looked away, as if thinking about something. "But do you think it really would be that bad if they did know?" I sharply turned to face her. She can't be serious. "I mean, look, obviously we're acting funny and our friends, our best friends in the world, have noticed. Even though their method of asking us about it was a bit peculiar, they are not going to give up on this. Telling them we're friends now did not work. It's only been six weeks, meaning that we're going to get closer and they are going to get more suspicious. So even if you'll probably be against it, I think we should tell them the truth."

The irony here is that she's the one that made up the rule about keeping this between the two of us.

"Normally, we both know I wouldn't want Carl and Sheen knowing about my intimate personal life, but I have to say, they've impressed me with keeping the whole us at Britney's house thing a secret. I thought for sure the whole town would know by now, with those two knowing. But I'm confident in telling them about this. Besides, I really do want to tell Libby about it. But I didn't want to do so without your consent. So what do you think?"

To be completely honest, I wasn't sure. Just because I didn't make up that rule doesn't mean I do want people knowing about mine and Cindy's arrangement. Currently, it seemed that she had more trust in Carl and Sheen than I did. I somehow knew they wouldn't say anything about Cindy and I hooking up at Britney's party, but now that we decided to continue it... well, that piece of information sure would appear to be news worthy. Same goes for Libby and considering her extremely open and honest relationship with Sheen, it's inevitable of the two of them finding out even if only one of them knew.

Despite all these thoughts, I didn't say anything, leading Cindy to continue trying to persuade me.

"If anything, they can be used as a cover."

"A cover?"

"We've been lucky enough not to get caught yet, but that's not to mean that it'll never happen. If we do decide to start sneaking around publicly, like we've been talking about, the chances will be higher. So we'll get one of them to cover for us."

I looked at her, understanding what she was saying but still not sure if everything she was saying were good enough reasons. Still trying to convince me, she kept going.

"I can't think of a specific example right now, but in general, maybe it really would be best to have them know. You can't tell me that you haven't been feeling guilty for keeping it from them all this time." I gave her a nod of recognition. I had indeed been feeling bad about keeping this from my two best friends.

"Sooner or later, they may even figure it out on their own." I put in, acknowledging that to be a real possibility. She nodded in agreement with slight smile, like she was glad I caught that since she had missed it. And then it seemed, I decided that this whole secret should be extended to the knowledge of three more people. "Libby will be upset that you didn't tell her."

"She'll get over it. Carl and Sheen will be happy that you told them. Bro Code and all." I chuckled. "So it's decided then? We'll tell them?"

"You realize this breaks rule number one of our arrangement right? The rule that you made up." I decided to tell her. She had convinced me that it would be okay to tell our friends, but I wanted to make sure she knew what she was doing.

"I know. But it's not like we didn't try to keep it a secret." I nodded, accepting the final word.

"So tomorrow? We'll tell them tomorrow so that they find out at the same time?" I suggested.

"Sure." She agreed and gave a relieved yet tense laugh.

"Are you nervous?" I asked.

"A little." She admitted. "I mean, how does one go about saying something like this? And to your best friend?" I nodded, knowing exactly what she means.

"Yeah, I don't know how I'm going to bring it up either. I guess we'll just go for it. Just spit it out."

"Yeah." She replied, but I could still tell she was apprehensive about it. "So, what do you want to go over first? History or Calc? Or there is the third option."

"What?"

With a small smirk, she answered. "Neither." She instantly stood on her tippy-toes and pressed her lips against mine.

* * *

"So what do you need to talk to us about?" Sheen said as he and Carl made their way over to me. For privacy reasons, I had asked them to meet me in the lab at five o'clock. This would give Libby and Cindy time to get back to Libby's house after her yearbook committee meeting. We weren't kidding when we said we wanted to let them know at the exact same time.

"Err, you might want to sit down for this." I warned.

"Oh, what did you blow up this time, Jimmy?" Carl asked teasingly.

"Haha." Although I didn't find it funny, a bit of humor before I do this might be good.

"But really, what's so urgent that you had us come down here at this exact time?" Carl asked, equally as curious as Sheen.

"Or do you have something on an alarm that's about to blow up?" Sheen asked excitedly, and I had to admit that it was a pretty clever conclusion.

"No Sheen." Once I saw that they were seated and their attention was on me, I began. "So Cindy told me that you two spoke to her the other day." I wasn't asking, since I clearly knew the answer., but I wanted to see how they would react.

Their response was similar to what I expected.

"Jimmy, I tried to talk them out of it and told them it wasn't a good idea." Carl instantly defended himself.

"No you didn't!" Sheen exclaimed in Carl's direction. "Look, we all know that Libby is the one who wanted to get down to the bottom of it. My girl just dragged us into it, but that doesn't mean I don't care, Jimmy, because I do."

"Does that have to do with what you need to talk to us about?" Carl asked, getting back to the matter at hand. I nodded.

"Aw, man are you going to tell us what's going on with you and Cindy? And don't just tell us that you're friends now, because as weird as we think it is, we get that." Sheen guessed correctly and Carl nodded in agreement by his side.

"Yeah, well there is something more that we haven't told you guys."

"Well, finally!" Sheen threw his arm up exasperatedly. "Tell me you're going to tell us what it is." Before I could open my mouth to speak, Carl beat me to it.

"Sheen, he is under no obligation to tell us anything he doesn't want to."

"He wants to! He was about to before you so rudely interrupted him!"

"But now he's just saying it because he feels bad and wants you to stop pressuring him."

"No, he's telling us because we're his friends and he knows we have a right to know."

"Guys!" I stopped their arguing and hoped that making myself known, they would remember who had gathered them here. "So what I'm going to tell you is, I guess, how and why Cindy and I have been getting along better lately." A silent agreement to keep quiet had gone through them and they faced me, ready for what I was going to say.

I looked at each of them. I know Cindy and I decided that we were going to tell them the truth but trying to figure out how to start would always be the hard part. No better place than the beginning, I suppose.

"So you know how after what happened at the party, on the first day of school, Cindy and I talked about it?" Nods came from both of them. "Well, we did, like I told you. Only there was...more to it than that."

"Okay..." Sheen said signaling that he understood and that I should keep going. This was the hard part. Even though I was fine telling them what was going on with me and Cindy, I didn't really want to use that exact phrase to explain it.

"We...also agreed that we would occasionally, casually start... hooking up." I answered as honestly as possible. My best friends seemed to understand what I was saying, even if neither said anything

Finally, it was Carl who broke the silence.

"And by hooking up, you mean...?"

"We're not having sex." I clarified. I knew one of them would jump to that conclusion.

"Not yet anyway." Sheen put in. I threw him a look "What? Jimmy, you're smart and all but I hope you have some common sense. I don't know how far you two have gone but if you keep this up, you are going to do it. And I know this isn't what you want to hear, especially now that you two are good, but everything's going to change when you do. Girls take sex very seriously. So believe me when I say that it's going to be a game changer."

"We're not even dating." I reminded him, thinking that might have made a difference.

"Doesn't matter." Carl spoke this time. "Whatever your relationship is, it changes, and not always for the better, once you sleep together. Especially if it's your first time."

"Would it be her first time?" Sheen asked. I shrugged, lying about if I knew or not because I wanted to maintain her privacy.

"Have you two talked about having sex? Has it ever been brought up?" asked Carl a lot more tactfully than Sheen.

"No." I replied, pulling up a chair and sitting on it since now it seemed like they were having a talk with me.

"Well," he continued carefully, as if he thought he would upset me with what he was going to say next. "Do you want to?" And, in terms of how I should answer, that was perhaps the hardest question I was asked today. "You're human, Jim, no one would blame you." He assured me.

"And it's Cindy. Seriously, dude, no one would blame you." Sheen added. Realizing we wouldn't move on from this subject until I answered, I did so in a way that hopefully they would understand.

"I haven't not thought about it." I answered truthfully. Thankfully, neither one of them began teasing me about it.

"Well then, if you want my suggestion," began Sheen, and I was extremely surprised to find that I did actually want it, "you should talk to her." He said with a shrug as if it really was that simple. "You're never going to know if she feels the same way unless you do."

"Never thought I'd say this, but Sheen's right. If it's crossed your mind at all and you really don't think you can go much longer without doing anything about it, then you should, at the very least, bring it up." Even though I knew they were right, we all knew that was easier said than done. "Have you guys gone far enough that you feel you need to talk about it?"

"No. But you-you guys are right." I tried to avoid telling them just how far Cindy and I have gone and hopefully they wouldn't think much of it if they knew I agreed with them.

It wasn't until then that I realized that I had never actually gotten their opinions on mine and Cindy's arrangement.

"So apart from that, the whole me and Cindy thing. Are we okay about it? You guys are fine with it?"

"It's not really up to us to be fine with it, is it?" Carl said. "If you and Cindy are okay with it, then that's all that important."

"We're just happy you told us so that we don't have to worry about it anymore. What you do with Cindy is up to you, if you know what I mean." Sheen replied with a wink, to which Carl nudged him with his elbow.

"Great." I chose to ignore Sheen's comment. "Glad that's settled."

* * *

**Cindy's POV**

"So what's this super important thing you had to tell me that you couldn't until we got here?" Libby asked me, unaware of how serious this actually was. As she took a seat on her dark purple comforter, I made sure to shut the door behind me. Now that the literal moment of truth was on us, I realized how much of a good idea it was to come to Libby's house instead of my own. I did not want to run the risk of either one of my parents being able to hear us.

I turned around slowly on the spot, not knowing where or how to start. I had never, in my entire friendship with Libby, kept a secret this big and this long from her. So while she could take it one of two ways, I knew the best shot I had at getting a calm, relaxed reaction from her depended greatly on my word choice for telling her.

"You know how you talked to Jimmy the other day at school? Just the two of you?" With a raised eyebrow and single nod, she replied.

"I should have known he would tell you about that."

"Yeah well, he was totally in his right to do so. Just like you had every right to simply ask me if you had a question about me and him."

"The only question I had was how the hell it happened. I love that you're friends now." She stood up and continued to explain. "You know I've wanted this for the two of you for a really long time. But it just seemed so out of the blue that it took all of us by surprise. Carl, Sheen, and I wanted to ask what was going on but we knew you would never tell us if I asked you and they asked him. So we mixed it up a bit thinking you would tell us. You're not mad, are you?"

Leave it to Libby to think I'm mad at her when I was the one who made the mistake.

"Absolutely not! No, I'm-I'm not mad at you. I should have just told you from the beginning what was going on. I'm sorry that I freaked you out. But I've-we've, Jimmy and I, have decided to tell you -and Carl and Sheen- how we became friends."

"Oh!" she exclaimed, probably not expecting it but glad to finally be getting an answer. "Great so, what is it?" She sat back down, not knowing that the news might actually make her want to take a seat.

"Err." If I had thought that I was fully prepared to tell her about this, nothing could have unprepared me more than when I actually had to do it. "So I know you think that the events of Britney's party have something to do with it, and they do. Sort of." Thinking she would say something, I paused. When I realized that she wasn't, I kept going. "You know how on the first day of school, I went over to the lab so we could talk about it?" She nodded this time. "Well, we did and um, while it wasn't a really long discussion, we moved on from that and talked about something else."

"Oh, okay. What?"

"Well, basically." I found that I could not keep still and talk about this at the same time. While wringing my hands, I walked over to the other side of her bed and paced a few steps in either direction. She turned and looked up at me. She didn't seem impatient but I also didn't want to make her wait any longer. "After talking about it, Jimmy and I decided to become" No turning back now, "friends with... benefits."

I never realized how much I dislike that phrase until now.

"Uh huh." She replied, so unlike how I thought she would. "So... you two are having sex then." She said it as a statement rather than a question. It was hard to miss the hurt tone in her voice, most likely because of the fact that this is how she was finding out about it.

"Wha-? No! Oh God, no! We've never gotten anywhere close to that. Libby, come on, you know I would have told you if that ever happened."

"Well, you weren't exactly jumping at the chance to tell me you two were friends with benefits."

"We weren't telling anybody. We were just keeping it between the two of us. But now we're ready to tell the three of you the truth. We trust you guys a lot so we're comfortable with you knowing. You just have to promise not to tell anybody."

"Do you really have to remind me of that?" She asked, and I knew she wouldn't like the fact that it sounded like I was accusing her of blabbing.

"It _is_ a juicy piece of gossip." I declared, hoping that would lighten her up.

Luckily, she smiled.

"It is. If someone else finds out, though, you have no idea how quickly this will spread through school. You and Jimmy are quite publicized." I gave a tight smile and decided not to comment on that.

"So we're good?" I asked, wishing everything was now okay between the two of us.

"Yes. Of course, we're good. I'm just happy that you told me. And don't worry, your secret is safe with me."

"Thanks." I smiled, being thoroughly happy that I now had this secret off my shoulders. Libby smiled in return, but unlike mine, hers didn't seem to be going away. It wasn't until she raised her eyebrows that I realized she was trying to tell me something.

"What?" I asked, having absolutely no idea what she could want.

"Well, I know you two aren't doing it. But you didn't tell me how far you _have_ gotten! Come on, spill!"

"Libby..." I groaned. I was dreading her asking me this question.

"Cindy, come on. I'm your best friend. Besides, I've told you about all the stuff Sheen and I have done."

"Despite the fact that I never actually asked." I quietly reminded her. The look on her face told me that that wasn't a strong enough argument. Sighing, knowing there was no way out of it, I began. "Not very far, I swear. Usually we're in the lab because it's private, but this one time, almost a month ago, we were in his room instead. And well, we got up to, I guess it was second base. Under the clothes, over the bra, but no below the belt stuff. Except for when I wrapped my legs around his waist."

"Hmm." I noticed how much she had paid attention and I found that I was glad I had told her. "See, that wasn't so hard was it?"

"No." I admitted. "Does this mean I have to tell you whenever Jimmy and I move past that?"

"Only if you want to. I hope you do though, because I'm always here to listen. And provide advice, if needed."

I smiled. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Good." She nodded. "So can you promise you won't get mad if I ask you this?"

"What?" I asked hesitantly, knowing I probably wouldn't but still weary.

"Now that you and Jimmy have been at this for a while now, have you ever actually considered having sex with him?" I took a while to answer this, not because I was getting mad but because I was trying how to best answer. The truth was that, yes, I have thought about it.

"You don't have to answer if you don't want to." Libby must have misunderstood my silence.

"I-I have actually. I have thought about it."

"Oh." She sounded surprised, not so much at my answer, but the fact that I actually said it out loud.

"But that doesn't mean I'm going to tell him to have his way with me next time I see him."

"Of course not. No one's saying that you should. But with you two being in this...thing, it's good that you're open to the idea."

"Really?"

"Mmm Hmm. Most of the time these types of relationships do end up in sex, so the fact that you're aware of that already eliminates a problem."

"That does make sense." I nodded in agreement.

"And Cindy, let's be real. Jimmy may be one of the smartest people on the planet, but at the end of the day, he's a teenage boy. So if you're thinking about it, he is definitely thinking about it." I smiled weakly, knowing that she was right.

And that was a fact I was not entirely sure I could handle.

**So, as you can see we're getting into a bit more mature territory here. Fear not. Remember the story's rating. I can't, and won't, go too much into detail. At least not here, but I'll get more into that later. For now I just hope that you enjoyed the chapter and are not being totally close minded about the adult theme that's starting to peek out. A quick reminder that the next chapter won't be out for a while due to that pesky little thing called school. But don't forget about me or the story! Thanks for the support and please review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Thank you guys for your patience. Here's chapter six!**

**Cindy's POV**

"So how did it go?" I piped up as soon as I reached the bottom of the chute and landed in the lab. I really couldn't contain my curiosity to how his side of the truth-telling went.

"Not nearly as badly as I anticipated." He explained as he reached his hands out to pull me up. "You were right. They're totally fine with it."

"I usually am. Good, that's great. One less huge stress off our shoulders."

"Yup. And with Libby?"

"She's not mad, thankfully. Just happy that I finally told her what was up with us. I don't know why we were so worried to begin with. We should have known they would be fine with it."

"And that they're not going to tell anyone."

"That too, most importantly." I remembered how Libby swore to keep it a secret.

"Did she say anything else?" He asked. Well, there was the whole her asking me if I have ever thought about going all the way with the local teen genius, but I certainly wasn't going to tell him that. Especially that I admitted that I was indeed thinking about it.

"No." I lied. "We talked about the yearbook for a bit and then I went home." That wasn't a lie at all. We really had discussed this year's issue of the yearbook. "You?"

"No. Just Carl and Sheen fighting over if I should tell them the truth or not, but nothing else really." I nodded. "So no work today?" He seemed to notice my lack of schoolbooks.

I shrugged. "Well, with your help, it's been getting easier to understand everything and you finally seem to be getting the hang of _The Grapes of Wrath. _With telling our friends about us and all, I thought that today we could just take a little study break." Although I didn't necessarily mean it in such an inappropriate way, Jimmy's growing smirk only said that he was catching what I was throwing his way.

"Sounds like a fine idea you've got there." He said as he approached me.

"I'm glad you think so." I whispered because of how close we had gotten in the short amount of seconds.

It wasn't that much longer until I was straddling him and we were both finding it difficult to catch our breaths. He took my bottom lip between his and sucked it, eliciting a whimper from the back of my throat that I knew we both could hear no matter how quiet I thought I was being. That made an idea pop into my head that I would be sure to mention when we were done.

I brought myself closer to him, placing my arms around his neck. I felt his hands leave my hips and was surprised near to the point of pulling away when they landed where my thighs met my butt and he pulled me even closer to him. I didn't even notice that I was involuntarily rocking into him until the groan escaped his lips and he moved them to my neck to kiss a line down my chest and across my neck line, peeking his tongue out as he went.

Finally being to catch my breath and think a bit straight, I thought about what Libby and I had spoken about. I agree with her when she says that Jimmy has definitely been thinking about sex. And from what I can see, he's likely thinking about it at this exact moment.

I don't mind that. I really don't. But if we were going to go any farther than what we're currently doing, I needed to make sure that I knew where we stood. Because of this, I put my hand on his chest and gently pushed against him. He pulled away somewhat reluctantly and due to our lack of eye contact, it seemed neither one of us were were capable of looking at the other.

Through his deep breath, he let out, "Umm, sorry. That was a bit much, huh?" Now he turned to look at me.

"No, it's- it's fine. I just wasn't expecting that to happen so...quickly." I looked at him as well. He nodded. Even though I did have a hint of suspicion that he was about to bring up the sex conversation, I found that a part of me didn't want to get into that right now, especially in our current position. So before he could say anything else, I began climbing off him.

"Alright, well..." I said as I brushed my hair to one side and turned to leave.

"Wait. Don't-don't leave yet. I want to talk to you about something."

Oh God.

But I couldn't really just leave with that hanging in the air, could I?

"Yeah?" I asked with a shaky breath and turned back around. By that way I answered, he could probably tell that I knew what he wanted to talk about.

"So umm," he seemed to start out confidently but something in his tone said that he did not want to talk about this nearly as much as he knew we should. "how does it feel now that your best friend knows about us?"

"Oh." I let out a laugh, releasing the trepidation I had about the conversation he clearly chose to avoid for now. "Um, well, good. Just a big relief, you know?" I said strongly, giving no indication that I thought we would be entering an entirely different discussion.

"Yeah, I'll say. Now when we tell them we're busy or have plans, they'll already know with what."

"Yeah." I smiled, agreeing with him. It then occurred to me that to dissolve all awkwardness, and get onto something I knew we're both comfortable with, I should mention what I had thought about in the middle of our...session. Admittedly, it's something that I've been thinking for a while, but now that our friends know, like I said the other day, we can afford to be a little less careful. Plus, seeing that Jimmy brought it up originally, even if he was just kidding about it, there's not much of a chance of him disagreeing. With that in mind, I spoke. "Are you going to the homecoming game tomorrow night?"

"Is that a serious question?" He replied. I threw him a look. "I hadn't planned on it. Why?"

Here was my chance. I thought again quickly if I should share my idea with him. It sounds good in theory and it's not like we would be the first ones to ever do this. Still, he's in his right to object to it. Guess I'll never know unless I tell him.

"Well, I was thinking-."

"Aw, Cindy, you know how dangerous that is for you." He teased.

"Shut up!" I laughed at his joke, knowing he was just kidding.

"What were you thinking about?" He asked when he came back from his own chortle.

"You know how we are talking about what it would be like if we were to do this publicly? Like out in the open, but hidden?"

"I'm listening." He said, picking his head up.

"If we were to meet tomorrow night, during the game, under the bleachers, semi-secluded, would you be okay with that?"

I could already see the smile growing on his lips.

"We could get caught." He breathed, but I couldn't tell if he was saying it as a warning or a contributing factor.

"That's part of the thrill, isn't it?" I said as I walked over to him.

"Look at you all adventurous." He observed.

"Hanging out with you all these years has prepared me for that." Once I reached him, I stood on my tippy toes. Placing my hands gently on his stomach for balance, I began leaving kisses along his jawline, just like I knew he liked. "So what do you say?" I asked once I practically felt the growl in his chest.

Without warning, he turned his head and captured my lips in a heated, unexpected kiss. I kissed him back briefly before remembering that he hadn't replied.

I pulled away and reminded him of his pending answer.

"Is that supposed to be a yes?"

"Yes." He let out. "To both questions."

"Okay. I'll go with Libby, you go with the boys, and I'll let you know a meeting time."

"Alright."

With a departing smile, I turned, grabbed my jacket, and left with a nervous -and excited- feeling growing inside me.

* * *

**Jimmy's POV**

Damn.

I knew from the beginning that having this type of relationship, particularly with Cindy, would be difficult. I haven't thought much about how long it would go on for, because I primarily focused on how far it would go. It wasn't a lie or a trick when I confirmed to Carl and Sheen that I was thinking about having sex with her. As Carl said, I'm only human. And while nothing should change between Cindy and I now that our friends know, that's not exactly how it felt.

Just now, when she was down here, is a prime example. It's almost as if now that other people apart from me know that I want her physically, I have to have her by all means. And that's not that way it works at all. Just because we're in this for each other's satisfaction, doesn't mean one of us, in this case, me, should get more out it than they are receiving.

For that reason, I tried talking to her about it before she left. Sheen's right in saying that she's not going to know the direction I want to take things unless I tell her. But I found having that conversation to be a lot more difficult than the one where I had to tell my best friends the truth. So naturally, I chickened out. I may be a genius, but I cannot come up with a way to tell Cindy that I want to take our physical relationship to the next level without her freaking out or calling me some hormone crazed pig. That being said, I'm glad she stopped us when she did.

Every time we're together, I ask myself how far we're going to go before one of us decides to stop. I'll admit, it's never gotten as far as I imagine or would like, but that doesn't mean that I'm always hoping for sex. However, I suppose it does mean something that Cindy is the one to stop us before things get too out of hand. It's alright though, because I'd rather she stop us before she gets uncomfortable and the two of us do something we're not ready for.

But that apparently won't stop her from suggesting another idea that I admittedly was more comfortable with.

A couple of weeks ago, I, as a joke, proposed that to prevent boredom, Cindy and I should take our usual secluded activity to a more public vicinity and of course, be careful not to get caught. I know that it gets tedious for her and even for me to be down here all the time, so I said it mainly to lighten the mood when she seemed particularly pouty about it. She did let out a laugh then so I didn't think she took it seriously. A few days after that, however, she brought it up and seemed to actually be serious about it. As she puts up a convincing argument, she slowly but surely got me to open up more to the idea. So much so that it even became a reason for telling our friends about us. And now, it seems, she has found the perfect place for us to make our not-so-public debut.

And I was actually very excited about it.

Normally, I wouldn't be caught dead surrounded by such high school frivolity that exists at a homecoming football game. But then again, I'm not going so I can watch the game, see the cheerleaders dance, or view our high school so-called royalty walk under a balloon arch. This is going to be something new, a challenge for the two of us, and when have we ever been the ones to shy away from one?

* * *

As expected, a great amount of the Retroville High student population came out to this apparently very important game. Spirit in the form of school colors was at an all time high (at least from the few times I've gotten to see it) and the cheering was at a decibel I hadn't heard before from my peers in an outdoor arena.

Sheen and Carl were already planning on attending so getting them to go wasn't an issue. As Sheen was going, I knew Libby would as well and eliminate that problem on Cindy's side.

We weren't late, as the game hadn't even started, but we had arrived late enough that there were not any visible seats available. So the five of us ended up leaning on and against the railing that overlooked the football field from the elevated bleachers.

Apart from the pleasantries, the five of us didn't speak much. Carl wandered off shortly after we arrived and Sheen and Libby looked too invested in the other's company to pay much attention to anything else. That left Cindy and I, who could have left at any moment and no one would really notice.

We ended up staying put and watched as the massive football players pointlessly ran through the decorated banner I assumed the cheerleaders had made.

A couple of minutes into the game, Cindy casually turned to me and spoke.

"So I thought of a time we should meet." I barely heard through all the din. I nodded, asking her to continue. "Five minutes left of the second quarter." She pointed at the scoreboard behind me which was counting down time. "Everyone will be getting ready for the halftime show or getting food so I don't think people will be overly concerned with anything that goes on other than that."

"Makes sense." I answered, because I thought it did. "Do you want to go together or...?" I trailed off hoping she would offer an alternative because I knew what I had just provided was not a good idea.

"No, we- we'll go separately. I'll take Libby and go off with her for a bit and I'll meet you at that time right under here. Five minutes. Second quarter." She reminded me, even though there was no way I would forget that.

"Okay." I said as coolly as possible.

She nodded in reply with a hint of a smile as she departed towards the embracing couple that was Libby and Sheen. I'm not sure what Cindy could have said to detach them from one another, but shortly after she approached them, she and Libby went off elsewhere, arms linked, and Sheen, noticing I was now alone, came over to me.

Maybe it was just me or perhaps the scoreboard really was going entirely too slow, even for a football game, but I felt like it was taking eons for there to be five minutes left of the second quarter. I considered making my way down there earlier, just in case Cindy had the same idea. Then I realized how embarrassing it would be if she found me sitting there instead, seemingly waiting impatiently like an idiot.

I first noticed that it was time when I saw the marching band making their way to the side of the field to prepare for their halftime performance. Looking up at the scoreboard only confirmed that it was indeed time that I reunite with Cindy. I told Sheen, who was surprisingly really into the sport that was going on in front of him, that I was going to use the restroom and that I would try to find out where Carl ran off to. Both were lies that probably weren't even necessary, seeing how engrossed he was in the game.

Glancing down at the field once more so that I knew what yard number Cindy and I had been aligned to, I turned and made my way through the crowd of spectators and down the stairs that were farther than I would have liked. It took about a minute, but I was finally able to make it to make it downstairs. I casually walked along the grass until I reached what I thought would be our meeting place. Ducking so I wouldn't hit my head on the steel rod, one of many that held the seats up, I made my way to where I supposed we were to meet. If I arrive first and she doesn't soon after, I'm going to feel very stupid and think that we should have planned this out better.

But as it turns out, that didn't happen.

"Here I was thinking that you weren't going to come." I could make out her silhouette, leaning against the steel bars with her arms folded. But even if I couldn't recognize her, there was no mistaking the sound of her voice.

"And miss an opportunity like this? Never." I replied with a shake of my head. She let out a soft laugh which brought a smile to her face. "Did you really think I would just not show up?"

"No, but I would understand if you wanted to back out. Now that it's actually happening, it is a little bit scary."

"We haven't even done anything yet." I said it like I was reminding her as I approached her.

"I suppose not." Her words came out more like a mumble since she barely moved her lips as she brought them to mine.

Automatically, I could tell that this sneaking around idea was one of her best. There was just something about the thrill of potentially being caught at any moment that heightened the heat between us. When it's just the two of us down in the lab, the only sounds we hear are of us saying each other's name in a staggered breath or the humming of machinery. But here it's totally different. With hundreds of people in the stands chatting, walking around, and the band playing, it's enough to make you want to abandon your current position out of fear and join the crowd. But I'm not going to do that. I don't want to think that way. All I want at the moment is her.

As if I were telling her that, I gently pushed her against the steel bars, entrapping her. I felt her smile into the kiss as she wrapped her arms around my neck. God, she's a great kisser.I never thought I'd ever say that in regards to Cindy Vortex but I also never thought I'd willingly attend a high school football game. But as they say, there is a first time for everything and this, our present situation, was no exception.

Feeling a bit bold, I pressed myself up against her, getting as close as humanly possible. She pulled away in surprise but I couldn't tell if it was in a good or bad way. She didn't say anything though and seemed to be fine with it when I kissed my way up her neck and onto that spot behind her ear that I had only ever kissed once before.

After hearing her near breathless response to that, I don't know what was released inside of me that drove me to a new level. I snaked my arms around her waist and slipped my thumbs under her clothes to touch her bare skin, all while leaving kisses on her exposed neck. Suddenly, I felt her arms leave mine.

I heard her let out my name, but I didn't pay much attention to the way she said it. I couldn't really control it when my hands left her hips and landed on her tight little ass.

"Jimmy, stop it!" She used all her strength to shove me off her. That seemed to be the wake up to whatever was pulling me under. Immediately, I felt like such an asshole.

"Cindy, I'm so sor-." She ran away before I could let another word out.

Oh crap.

I ran after her, not entirely sure what I would do or say when I reached her but knowing that I had to do something. A large crowd had accumulated near the top of the stairs and I had to push past them to be able to catch up to her. Finally, I saw her walking up to Libby and Sheen. Libby turned to tend to her and I was able to get close enough to hear what they were saying.

"Libby, can we-? We need to leave."

"But the second half hasn't even started yet." Libby fought.

"Like you even care Libby. Can we please just go?"

She nodded, apparently understanding that her best friend was longing to leave. As she turned to Sheen to tell her they were going, Cindy noticed that I was standing there. She didn't yell or run to punch me as I was expecting, but instead looked at me hesitantly, neither fearful nor apologetic, not that she had anything to apologize for.

Libby turned back around and the two of them walked quickly away from the field and headed home.

**This last part was SO difficult for me to write. This would have been up hours ago or even last night otherwise. I know you're probably upset with Jimmy and therefore me, but don't worry, everything will be okay. What happened in this chapter will launch a new part of the story that shouldn't surprise you because we've been looking at it. I normally don't tell readers what to expect in an upcoming chapter, but seeing as I really do not know when I'll be updating, I thought I should at least give you something. So thanks for reading. Hopefully, you found something in it that you enjoyed. Reviews?**


	7. Chapter 7

**So here's something I think we've all been waiting for. Enjoy!**

**Cindy's POV**

I have to get some sleep. It's not a school night, nor do I have any reason to get up early tomorrow morning, but I _need _to get some sleep. I cannot let what happened keep me up all night.

I shouldn't even be overthinking this. It's not like it's news. Jimmy Neutron has been thinking of having sex with me, as was proven when I felt him while he was pressed up against me. And I've been thinking the same about him. But even though he doesn't know it, and likely doesn't think it after tonight, why did I act the way I did? Just ran away, like a coward. I mean, yes, there was not the time nor place to do anything or even talk about it, but running away wasn't the solution either.

He didn't do anything wrong. He didn't overstep a boundary or anything like that, considering we don't even have any when it comes to the physical of it all. The only boundaries we had were that no one know about us, which has already been crossed, that there's no strings attached in this, which is still the plan, and that we don't fall for the other, which well, we all know isn't going to happen. But what took place tonight was inevitable. I really should have seen it coming. Out in the open football game or not, this would have happened eventually.

And when it had, what?

Was I expected to just go along with it? Screw all and any consequences? Call me old fashioned, but sex just is not the type of thing I can just _do_, especially for my first time. Luckily, I'm not the only person, let alone girl, who thinks this way.

I carpooled with Libby over to the game, which is why I was insisting that we leave together. She didn't ask me any questions on the drive home and that's probably because by the time we got to the car, I had calmed down enough that I didn't look...well however I must have looked when I ran off from Jimmy. Even though I know I should tell her what happened, I was still making up my mind as to if I wanted to. Thankfully, she hadn't asked me any questions even after she dropped me off. But in a way, I think it would just be redundant.

If I had told her the story, I know exactly what she would say. She wouldn't be mad at Jimmy but she'd still be sympathetic towards me. She'd definitely give me an 'I told you so' in regards to having the talk with him earlier which might have prevented this sort of thing from happening in the first place. Then she would question the real reason I ran away, which she would answer with, since she's so damn smart, that I'm not running away from Jimmy. I'm in fact running from the idea of engaging in this new aspect of a physical relationship that I don't really want to admit I'd rather have with Neutron as opposed to other male peers. Libby would be right, as she usually is, and I would end up semi-reluctantly having to talk to Neutron about the possibility of us having sex.

So therefore, I don't really see a point in telling her.

Besides, all this back and forth banter in my head has resulted in me making up my mind about it. I am indeed positive that I want to lose my virginity to Jimmy Neutron.

Whenever I thought about my first time, I never imagined something over-the-top or sappy like female protagonists do in nineties teen movies. I don't _plan_ to lose it when I'm married as I think it's important to have some experience before then. Location, date, or even the events going on prior to the act also weren't things I think about. Of course, this isn't to mean that I'm just willing to give it up whenever and to whomever. But, ideally, I want it to be with someone who I trust. Someone who will be patient and understanding, who won't laugh at me. Someone who will make me feel good and awkward and comfortable and silly and mature and just everything in between. A friend. One with benefits, it apparently seems to be. I don't mind that it's Jimmy, because in all honesty, I _want_ it to be Jimmy. And it really is time that I tell him that.

I chose to wait until the next day to contact him because even though I wasn't mad, I wanted to at least make him sweat a little bit. So after he texted me back saying that he would be in the lab all day, I made my way over there with a completely new but related purpose. I had barely regained my balance from sliding down the chute when he immediately approached me.

"Cindy! I'm glad you're here. Look, I am so sorry about the other night, I don't know what came over me..."

I couldn't tell if what he was saying was rushed because it sounded so overly rehearsed or he was extremely nervous. I understood what he was trying to say, despite how fast he was speaking. He continued rambling and I was appreciating the apology even though it wasn't entirely necessary. I should say something. I really should. There he is freaking out over something that's not even really worth it since we both know he can't help it. He obviously thinks I must be angry at him, especially seeing that I've given him no reason to think that I'm not. Although he should be smart enough to realize that I'm trying to get past this since I'm the one that came to see him.

Ugh, Neutron. You big-headed, bumbling idiot.

"I want to have sex, Jimmy."

* * *

**Jimmy's POV**

What in the name of...?

I stopped talking abruptly. Both because I was starting to repeat myself and due to what Cindy had just said. There's no way she could have...

Did she?

"Err- umm..."

"Oh, _now_ you're out of things to say." She observed as she walked further into the lab, crossing her arms. I turned around and faced her, still in shock by what she said. "_What_?"

I knew that I had to get it together quickly so that I'm not just standing there like a moron. With a couple of blinks and shake of my head, I was finally at a place where I could respond.

"Sorry, I-I just wasn't expecting you to say that. Or think it or feel it-."

"Yeah, I get it. But what, you don't think girls can get sexual feelings and try to act on it?"

"That's not what I'm saying Cindy." I wanted to get my thoughts out before she started getting too defensive. "I'm just surprised. You've never verbally expressed that you wanted that. And you certainly don't show it."

"Just because I'm not ripping your clothes off every chance I get, doesn't mean I'm totally against it."

I swallowed.

"Oh. That's umm... that's good to know." I replied with a nod as I sat down and she looked the other way, probably already embarrassed by that declaration. "So, what made you err...want to." I ended lamely.

"I don't know." She shrugged, not seeming to notice how stupid I just sounded. "We've been in this...thing for some time now and I can't deny that I feel it will eventually get to that point. I mean, it's- it's human nature right?" I nodded. "So... yeah." As glad as I am to hear that she's accepting of it, that didn't seem nearly like a good enough reason.

"So you want to do it just because everyone else is doing it?" I chose those exact words, knowing they would anger her most. She sharply looked up at me.

"Of course not! I-." She looked around anxiously, probably trying to formulate words in her head before speaking them. "I have given this a lot of thought." She started sincerely. "This is something that I want to do. Not because it's cool or any shallow reason, but because I feel that I am ready for that, that sort of relationship. And if I'm being honest, I wouldn't be completely repulsed if it was with you."

"Well, if that's not a turn-on, I don't know what is."

"You are not taking this seriously." She huffed under her breath as she turned away. I got up and started walking towards her.

"What are you talking about? I-."

"I'm a virgin, you know." She reminded and faced me again.

"Yes, I know that. As am I."

She scoffed. "Yeah right."

"Excuse me?" I retorted.

"All you guys say that. 'I've never been with anyone.'" She dropped her voice and tried to imitate some big burly jock who sounded nothing like me. "It's just another tactic to try to get into our pants."

"And you know this because a lot of guys try to get into yours?" I questioned.

"I don't hang out with guys whose sole purpose for being my friend is to try to sleep with me. And if I did, I wouldn't. I'm as pure and innocent as they come."

"Not as of the last two months you're not." I corrected her. She glared at me but didn't say anything.

There was a bit of a pause, which I left open in case she wanted to say anything. She didn't, so I took over instead.

"So you really want to do this?"

"Yes, I do. If you agree with it, I do."

"Whatever you want." I shrugged.

"I'm not going to want to do it if you're going to be all passive about it." She fired back.

"Well, would you rather me overthink it and get all uptight?"

"No, but," She paused, trying to find the right words. "Look, I know I don't take about things like make-up or shopping or the hot new boy band's latest album seriously. But sex is a big deal to me. And I think you should treat it as such too."

"I do think it's a big deal."

"Well, you're not acting like it!"

"I just want you to be comfortable!" I explained. "If you're fine with it and you want to do it, then yeah, it's okay with me. What more do you want?"

"I want to know that you're not just doing it for me. I want you to understand that this is a huge step and you need to be one hundred percent sure about it before you agree to it."

"I promise you, I am. I'm positive about it, okay?"

"Alright, yeah." She answered, finally understanding while I gave a nod of assurance. "Besides, it's not like you don't want to."

"I'm sorry?"

"Oh, come on Neutron. Don't think I haven't noticed how...excited you get whenever we're together. Your hand on my body was not all I felt from you at that football game. It's quite flattering, thank you. But if you wanted to take things to the next level, all you had to do was bring it up. It's not that hard. Unlike you." She smirked.

I looked at her, completely flabbergasted.

"How did you manage to turn this around and make it about me?"

"Because I'm good." She said with a triumphant smile. Suddenly, I thought of something that would potentially and hopefully bring her off her high horse.

"Can I ask you a personal question?"

"Well, seeing as we're going to get as personal as we possibly can, I suppose a question or two couldn't hurt." She responded.

"Apart from with me, what _is_ the farthest you've ever gotten?" I asked because I was both curious and because if I'm going to be her sex partner, I have a right to know all about her past experiences. Even though she knows that information is important, I was still expecting her to put up a fight about it. But by the way she was looking at me, like she was thinking of how to start, I knew that she would tell me.

"There-there was this guy," she began, "at camp a couple of summers ago. We were both counselors and after we put all the campers to sleep we-."

"Got into bed yourselves?" I really couldn't miss that opportunity.

"No!" She yelled. "I mean, yes, we were in one but nothing crazy happened. Most of our clothes were off and we actually ended up getting to third base," I noticed the faint blush in her cheeks when she said that "but we kept hearing voices and-and footsteps so we decided not to do anything else because we didn't want to get caught." She ended by crossing her arms and leaning against a workbench. "How about you?" She nodded in my direction.

I gave a shrug. "I don't get out much Cindy."

"What's that supposed to mean? I can't have been your first...whatever."

"You're not, but the question was how far we've gotten. The farthest I've ever gone is with you."

"Really?" She didn't say it sarcastically. It was more like a genuine wonder. "So you've never done anything with anyone else?"

"I've kissed other girls, but nothing like what we have done." I clarified.

"No one? Not even," She paused like she was struggling to get the next word out. "Annie?"

I had to scoff at that.

"Annie? Seriously? We're just friends Cindy. You know that." She raised her eyebrows and looked away, clearly not fully believing me.

"_We're _just friends." I knew she was referring to the two of us this time.

"We became friends because of our friends with benefits thing. Annie and I have always been friends. That's the difference."

She gave a single shrug. "She liked you, you know. For a really long time."

"Has she ever told you that?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"No."

"Then there's no proof that she did. Why did you even bring her up? Annie and mine's relationship has nothing to do with the next step in ours." I told her.

"I suppose you're right. And if nothing really did happen between the two of you, then she's totally irrelevant to this conversation."

"That's right." I replied, and that's where our interrogation seemed to end. After about a minute, Cindy spoke again.

"So then, onto the next order of business."

"Which is?" I pondered.

"When do you want to do it?"

I thought for a second, wondering if now was actually a good time for a joke.

"Right now works for me." I answered.

"Haha." I grinned, happy that she knew I was joking. She didn't say anything else, and I figured she was waiting for me to speak.

"I do have an idea." She waited for me to continue. "My mom is going with my dad to Duck-Con in Dallas soon. They'll be gone for the whole weekend so we'll have the house to ourselves."

"And when is that?" She asked and I could hear the nervous tone in her voice.

"Two weeks from now. They're leaving next Friday." Her eyes widened a bit and I couldn't tell if it was because she thought that was too far away or not soon enough. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah. Two weeks, that's just-yeah. Umm, perfect. Cool." She said as she pushed some hair behind her ear. "So we'll just have to wait until then." I did have some other plans in mind, which since now that she's okay with us having sex, she would be smart to agree to.

"Well, in the meantime we could, if it's okay with you, start... expressing ourselves a little more when we see each other." She nodded a couple of times and I knew that she understood what I was trying to say.

"Right." She stood up and straightened her dress but it looked more like she was wiping her hands on it. "You're allowed now to...touch me. Wherever your hormone addled mind desires to. And I expect the same permission."

"Fair." I nodded.

"I also suppose that clothes can start coming off now. I'm pretty sure we won't be using them on the big day."

"Is that what you're going to label it on your calendar?" I teased.

"Shut up." She replied as she threw me a look. "So that's it then? It's decided?"

"Yup."

"Cool. So I will just see you at school tomorrow then."

"Alright. Have a good day." I said that last part as she was walking towards the exit.

"Yeah. You too." Within a few seconds, the automatic doors closed shut behind her.

**New character alert! Who noticed it? Anyone? **

**Also, do you think we can hit 50 reviews in time for the next chapter? There may or may not be an advanced sneak peek to chapter 8 for that awesome 50th reviewer...! **


	8. Chapter 8

**Wow. I am just completely blown away by all the feedback. You guys are incredible and I do not think I have ever gotten this happy by reading what others think of my work. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU. I love you guys and I hope you enjoy this chapter. I really think you will. Just a heads up: the italics that kick off the chapter are ****not**** a flashback like they were previously, but I trust that most of you will figure out what it is before the story reveals it. So please brace yourselves and enjoy.**

**Jimmy's POV **

_I was lying in my bed, shirtless. There was a familiar tightening in my jeans but seeing as there was no one else in the room, I didn't understand why. Suddenly, a figure appeared and I knew it was Cindy even though she looked nothing like herself. Her hair was wavier and had more volume. She had black lined around her eyes, bringing out the green in them and her eyelashes were impossibly long. She had a gloss on her lips that I wasn't sure I liked but it looked like she would be incomplete without it. To top it all off, she wasn't wearing any clothes. Instead, she was wearing a matching red underwear set and her breasts were pushed up together. She started climbing onto the bed._

"_Cindy, what's going-."_

"_You want me, right?" She spoke in a hushed tone. "You have _always_ wanted me." By now she was lying on her front between my legs, a glint in her eye and a hand running up my inner thigh. I jerked when her fingers extended and touched me through my clothes. "Relax." She gently put pressure which caused me to inhale a sharp breath. "You'll like it, I swear." Cindy kept her hand there but brought her head up to kiss all over my abdomen, leaving a trail with her tongue. When I let out a moan, she palmed me all the way up until she reached the button and zipper. Before she managed to undo it, I spoke._

"_Wait."_

"_What's wrong?" She spoke with a whine in her voice. Looking up at me through her long lashes, she gave me the most innocent look I'd ever seen._

_I shook my head, feeling stupid that I had stopped her._

"_Nothing. Go on." _

_With a sexy little smile, she managed to undo the button and pull the zipper down with one hand. I couldn't help but to push my head into the pillow as she slipped her hand under my boxers..._

I woke with a jolt, sitting up and in need of a cold shower. While I wasn't expecting it, I understood why I had that dream. It was, finally, next Friday: the day my parents leave.

After that shower, I made my way down to breakfast where I knew my parents were going through their final checklists.

I sat at the kitchen table as mom went over the things they really did need for a three day trip while my dad just triple-checked that he was bringing the correct duck memorabilia to be autographed.

"Okay. Looks like that's all." Mom said as she finally put her list down. "Now remember Jimmy, if anything happens, you give us a call and we'll come back right away. Whatever it is, don't hesitate to call." I smiled, finding her concern endearing.

"Mom, I've saved the world a couple of times before I even started high school. I'm pretty sure I can handle three days home alone." She grinned in return, knowing I was right.

"Alright. Oh, and don't forgot to water the plants before nine tomorrow morning and Sunday. I already did it today. I left some cash for you on the coffee table. Jimmy, dear, please do not spend it all on food. I left you enough of that."

"Judy, he'll be fine. We both know he's responsible enough for this. I'm positive that nothing will go wrong. Right, son?" I swallowed a piece of toast before I answered.

"Right." My mom smiled once more. "You guys should get going before traffic gets crazy. Come on, I'll help load the car." They don't have a lot of luggage, even with a good amount of dad's duck collection, but seeing what I'll be doing in their house while they're gone, it's the least I can do.

Within fifteen minutes, they were packed and ready to go. Mom was driving since she had the better sense of direction. Once they were in their respective seats, I waved to them from a few feet away.

"We'll let you know when we get to our hotel. I know you'll be at school, so I don't expect you to answer right away. Take care of yourself and the house. We love you." Mom spoke.

"I will. Love you too. Bye dad." I waved with my other hand so he could see it through the windshield.

"Bye Jimbo! We'll see you Sunday!" He answered. With a nod, I walked back, giving her space to back up. She started the car but before she could reverse it, she turned to me once more.

"Jimmy?" She called for my attention. "I don't want anybody in the house while we're gone. Just you and Goddard. Okay?"

I hate lying to her.

"Yeah, of course. Got it." With a final smile, she gave me a last wave and pulled the car out of the driveway, getting on the road. Goddard, who had watched the whole interaction from the porch, now sat at my feet and gave a bark. "Yup, looks like it's just you and me buddy." He barked again. "And Cindy tonight." I couldn't ignore the look he gave me. "Don't look at me like that. Mom and dad are never going to find out." He didn't respond. I sighed, knowing there was no way for him to understand. "Come on, let's get you breakfast. You can eat while I get ready for school." At the mention of food, he followed me back into the house.

Once I got to school, I knew there would be that strong sense of awkwardness since I would be seeing Cindy in a classroom all day and then seeing her in a completely different way later tonight.

And all day long, that's exactly how it felt.

It was kind of like the way it was on the first day of school, when we hadn't yet talked about what happened at Britney's. We were avoiding each other although we were fully aware of the other's presence. There was an air of discomfort but it still felt like something should be said or done. Similar to that day, neither one of us answered many questions in class in an attempt to prevent the other one from retaliating harshly. I don't think I've ever, in my life, been so glad for the school day to be over. You really have no idea no uncomfortable it is to have to spend nearly the entire day next to the girl you're about to have sex with for the first time until it actually needs to be done.

As if that weren't bad enough, the dream I had about Cindy kept popping into my head at random intervals. When it did, I couldn't help but glance up at her even though her attention was on the teacher and chalkboard in front of her. I really need to get it out of my head. That's exactly what it was: a dream. I have no expectation of that kind of behavior from her tonight even though she has gotten somewhat close to it in these past two weeks.

Just like we had agreed, we had gotten more adventurous in the time leading up to today. Within a couple of days after that accordance, I had her dress unzipped and halfway off her body, a hand on one breast and my mouth on the other. Me having my shirt off nearly became an everyday occurance and I couldn't help but grin whenever I noticed a new mark that she left on my chest. When it came to me, she wasn't as bold about any below the belt stuff as she was in the dream, despite that she did leave me breathless once or twice. But I will never forget when she gave me the green light for, well pretty much everything.

It was only a few days ago and, as usual, it was hot and heavy in the lab. My hand was dangerously high on her thigh and I was half expecting her to swat my hand away at any second. Just as I felt the lace of her panties. she pulled away from our kiss and spoke.

"Listen." She tugged on my hair so I would pay attention. "Do whatever you want to me." She stared into my eyes, making sure I understood. "Anything."

So I did.

But we haven't had sex yet. We promised to save it until today and somehow that pledge remained. The 'big day', as we had both began calling it, was here and even though we had done stuff that you would think made us completely comfortable and ready for it, I could not have felt more unprepared. While it's not something we've discussed, I figured that if I'm nervous, she undoubtedly is too.

Her body language didn't really give it away when I opened the front door for her later that evening though.

"Hey." She said as confidently as she could. She was wearing the same dress she had on during school but I noticed she curled her hair a bit. Her backpack was slung over her shoulder. Homework is our cover, as always.

"Hey. Come on in." I opened the door wider for her to go through. Once it was shut, she turned to face me.

"So...upstairs, right?"

"Yeah. You can just go on up." She nodded as she turned to the stairs and lead the way to my bedroom. The door was already opened and she didn't hesitate to enter. So far, Cindy was acting as if we were truly going to do nothing but study. It wasn't until she had placed her bag on my desk chair and I had closed the door behind me that she addressed the reason she was here.

"Umm... so I know we've been doing stuff lately that should have made this a lot easier, but I just wanted to tell you that even though I am completely ready for this, I am a tiny bit nervous." The amount of shakiness that left her at those last words said that she was a likely more nervous than just a 'tiny bit'.

Giving her a reassuring grin, I walked over to her and took her hand, something that I wasn't sure I should have done but it felt like the right thing to do.

"I'm actually pretty nervous too." Cindy let out a relieved laugh to which I smiled in response."Thank you for being honest. I just want you to be comfortable." She nodded and bit her lip before she spoke again.

"We've been through a lot, haven't we?" I nodded, knowing that she meant more than just our physical relationship since September. "I'm glad it's you, by the way. I don't think I've mentioned that." I squeezed her hand gently.

"Same. Really." I whispered because that's how close we were. With that, she closed the gap between us and kissed me. I immediately kissed her back and with it I knew that any fear or worry we had about tonight had faded away.

Our arms were quickly wrapped around each other. One couldn't tell whose mouth the moans were coming from. Just as I was running out of breath, I decided to get things going.

"I think this is when we take our clothes off." I muttered as I touched my forehead to hers. She blinked once and reached her hands to the hem of my shirt and pulled it up and over my head in one quick move. Cindy kissed me briefly before moving her hands to my belt. With a small smirk, I pulled away. "Impatient, are we?"

"You could say that." She didn't hesitate in responding. We went back to kissing as I slipped her cardigan off her shoulders and my hands trailed up her back. Once I had unzipped her dress, my fingers brushed her back and she exhaled a short breath in surprise. Her dress fell to the floor at the same time my pants did and just as we stepped out of them, she moved her lips and started sucking my neck.

"Don't leave a mark there, Vortex." I teased which she responded by tracing my earlobe with her tongue. Not expecting that, I grabbed her hips and gently pushed her backwards to the bed. She went back to kissing my lips and held on to my biceps as we collapsed onto it. Cindy pulled us higher onto the bed, stopping when her head rested on a pillow, our kiss intact the entire time.

Within a couple of minutes, we were naked and it was impossible to ignore the heat between us. Despite all our experimenting, we had never fully undressed ourselves, so this was, like nearly everyday we spend with each other, new. Wanting to take it all in, I broke our kiss and looked down at her. My God, she's beautiful. I understood now why she had curled her hair. The way it was spread on my pillow framed her face and made her look like an angel. Her lips were red and her cheeks pink. She appeared flushed, waiting, _wanting_. She looked at me intently, not in a creepy way but more like she was trying to read what was going on in my head.

"You okay?" She spoke quietly. "Not thinking of backing out now, are you?" She broke into a smile.

"No." I laughed in return. "Are _you_ okay?"

"Just perfect." Cindy gave a single nod, but I wasn't sure if it was because she was reassuring me or confirming it to herself.

If I had any doubts that she was ready, I don't anymore. And if I'm being honest, maybe it wasn't that I was anxious about having sex. I was probably nervous about having sex with Cindy specifically. But now that it was moments away from happening, I don't know what the hell I was so scared of. Being here, with her, it just feels right.

Knowing how sure I was about this, I leaned in to kiss her. I placed a hand on her hip and she replied by spreading her legs open a bit further.

"Do you-" She let out with a heavy breath. "Do you have a condom?"

"Yeah." I breathed.

"You-you should put it on now." With a nod, I reached over to grab one from my bedside table drawer.

I didn't say anything as I lay onto the bed so I could roll it on more comfortably. Then I got back on top of her and held myself up by my elbows.

"Are you ready?" I whispered.

"Yeah." She nodded. With her confirmation, I lined myself up with her entrance and released a breath I didn't know I had been hiding. Noticing that we had gotten to the point of no return, Cindy pushed her head deeper into the pillow. Unsure if that was some kind of signal, I still lowered my head to kiss her neck. When she moaned, I took advantage of the moment and pushed into her. Slowly, of course.

* * *

Afterwards, we lay in my bed, with nothing but the sheets over us. With a smirk on my face, I had one hand behind my head and the sheet only covered my waist downward. I looked over at Cindy, who had the sheet covering her entire body and stopping over her breasts with her hands folded lightly over it. I glanced back to the ceiling before she looked back at me and potentially initiated the awkward post-sex talk.

I hate to sound cocky, but I know that I made her feel good. While she didn't verbally say anything, all her little breathy moans and gasps she let out assured me she had enjoyed it more than she was willing to say. And of course, there was the look on her face and sound she made when she climaxed. She would be embarrassed as hell if she knew how much I knew.

After a minute, she finally broke the silence.

"Don't get mad when I say this, but I really am starting to think you were lying about being a virgin."

"Why?" I was sincerely curious.

"Because if this really was your first time, you couldn't have known to do all... that. You must have had some experience."

"I haven't, I swear." I chuckled. "Need I remind you, Vortex? I'm a scientist. I know how to do research."

"Well then, looks like that big brain of yours finally became useful." She sounded somewhat relieved.

"I'll take that as a compliment." I said with a smile.

"Do." She kindly replied.

"So you liked it?"

"Oh, you're just fishing for compliments now, aren't you?"

"Cindy." I turned to her, hoping that she would look at me too.

She did.

"It was alright, I suppose." And just like that, her entire demeanor changed. "Anyway," She sighed, "I should get home."

"Okay." She got up and began dressing herself. As she was putting on her cardigan, I spoke again. "So I'll see you later then?" I didn't mean like I was expecting us to have sex again soon and hopefully she didn't take it like that. I sincerely couldn't wait to just see her again.

Before she left, she made sure to reply my question.

"Yeah. Yeah, sure."

* * *

**Cindy's POV**

Oh my _God_.

I somehow managed to make it across the street, into my house, up the stairs, and to my bedroom before I lost my footing and did the overdramatic and cliche slide down the wall. Figuratively speaking, of course.

But that was just... _wow._

Clearly, it was not a mistake doing this with Jimmy. It was, in short, everything I could have hoped for. He was gentle and patient. Careful and accepting. And all that made that one final moment truly just magical. I've heard the stories, the myths, but I never would have thought that it it could feel like that.

I shouldn't be that surprised though. Considering everything he's done to me in the past two weeks, I should have been prepared not only for the sex itself but also how it would leave me after it. It's not like he was holding back once I gave him the all clear a few days ago. But somehow, inexplicably, tonight surpassed all that. And it did so in a way that I don't think I'll ever have with anyone else.

However, that doesn't mean I have to let him know how much I actually enjoyed it. There's no need for me to add on to the arrogance. When he asked me if I liked it while I was lying on his bed, wrapped in nothing but a sheet, I knew that I had to get defensive to prevent him from badgering on about it. With a shrug and a passive approve, he seemed to have bought it and that's the way it was going to stay. Or at least for as long as I can possibly uphold it. This will be a challenge since the longer I keep him from knowing that truth, the longer I have to stay away from him. Because if I'm being honest, if we are ever left alone with as much privacy as we had tonight, I don't know if I'll be able to control myself.

This doesn't mean I never want to see him again. But while I train myself to ensure no stupidity is done on my part, it wouldn't be the worst of ideas if we were to stay away from each other for the time being.

In terms of that weekend, that plan was going well. It wasn't until school started back up on Monday that really was cause for concern. Having Neutron in nearly every class is getting to be more and more intolerable as the year progresses. I've never left a classroom faster, especially if it had nothing to do with the teacher or the lesson. Despite the twinge of guilt I felt at avoiding and ignoring him, he was just going to have to learn to be patient.

He's a persistent guy though, Neutron, so when he was finally able to corner me at my locker on Wednesday afternoon, shortly after school let out, I really could do nothing but confront him.

"Neutron." I greeted with an exasperated sigh.

"You've been avoiding me, Vortex." He jumped straight to the point. "Why?"

Well, I sure as hell wasn't going to tell him the truth. So, in a completely moronic move, I stayed quiet while I thought of what to say.

"If you didn't enjoy it Cindy, you can just say so. It won't hurt my feelings." He spoke the words but the look he had on his face gave away that he knew the truth was the exact opposite.

"I've been busy." I was able to produce as an explanation. "I don't know why you think I'm avoiding you. I'm not. I'm just busy. I do more with my time than just spend it with you."

"You know, if I weren't on _Discover_ magazine's 20 under 20 this year, I may actually be foolish enough to believe that. You've always been as busy as you claim to be now, so obviously the events of Friday night have everything to do with the reason you're avoiding me. So should I share another theory I have or are you just going to tell me?"

I glared at him, knowing full well that his other theory was just his interpretation of the truth. Not wanting him to hold that over my head, I decided to confess.

"Okay, fine Neutron. I loved it, you were great, and it looks like you finally found something you're good at. Maybe even better than me."

He chuckled a bit. "Well, I guess we'll have to find out next time."

"Next time?" I questioned.

"Mhmm."

"Are you insinuating that I want to have sex with you again?" I wanted to laugh at his overconfidence.

"You weren't exactly telling me to stop the last time." He smirked. I scowled at him, angry that he had me all figured out in regards to this.

"Fine." I huffed. "Saturday night. My parents have some fancy dinner and awards ceremony for my dad's job in the city and they'll be getting back really late. So I'll be home alone."

"As lucky as that is for us, Saturday night is a bit too last minute. I'll have to check my schedule." I slapped him playfully. "I'm kidding." He laughed. "What time?"

"It starts at seven, but the limo is picking them up at five, so anytime after that."

"Sounds good." He nodded.

"I suppose so."

"I'll see you around then." He turned and walked away but the proud smirk he had on his face as he left did not go unnoticed.

* * *

The rest of the week passed unexpectedly quickly. I was soon changing my usual Saturday night get-up from sweatpants and messy buns to perfume and a pair of panties that I'm sure I won't be wearing for too long anyway

Just to be safe, Neutron came over an hour after my parents were picked up. He apparently wanted to test his theory about if I was really better at sex than him. So being the scientist that he is and I being the curious mind that I am, we decided to try it out. Of course, I would say that I am far superior if it weren't for the fact that I was a lot more verbal than I was last time. Also, ending up under him as opposed to on top wouldn't exactly help my case. But oh well.

Practice makes perfect, I suppose.

As we lay there afterwards catching our breaths, a silence loomed over over. I mean, what was there to say really? He knew better than to brag, but I also didn't want to say something that would cause him to do that.

"So," he finally spoke, and I hoped his next words wouldn't have anything to do with what just happened. "have you heard back from Princeton yet?"

I'm surprised that he would mention something like that, particularly at a time like this. But hell, I wasn't complaining.

"No," I began, "but I'm actually more nervous to hear back from Columbia."

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about it. You'll get in."

"Hopefully."

"You will. They'd be idiots not to accept you."

"Thanks." I smiled. "It is a little too early to hear back though. Even for early admission." I heard him hum in agreement. "How about you? Has MIT offered you a full ride yet?"

"No, but to be honest I'm much more looking forward to receiving Caltech's decision."

_Caltech?_

"Caltech?"

"Yup. It's the best school for science and engineering there is."

"Oh." I replied dishearteningly but hoping that he wouldn't sense it.

"Something wrong?"

"No." I shook my head even though he couldn't see it. "It's just... Caltech is so far. West coast and all."

"You want to go to the east coast. That's just as far from here as the west coast is."

"Yeah, but... it's just-." I could not think of anything that wouldn't involve me saying I'd rather him go to school on the east coast. "I don't know. I guess I always just pictured you very... New England like." I heard him give off a single laugh.

"No thanks. Year long cold weather and copious amount of American history aren't really my thing."

"But earthquakes and tanning are?"

"Is there a problem with me wanting to go to Caltech?" He turned on his side and asked me. I could tell he was getting angry.

"There's not." I faced him too. "I just don't see why you have to prove to anyone how smart you are by going to the best school for what you want to do."

"I don't need to prove anything. I simply want to go to a school that's equal to my intellect."

"MIT is a really good school too."

"I'm not saying that it isn't, Cindy. Why do you even care anyway?"

'I don't." There was no way I could explain myself without saying something I would regret. I didn't want to get into an argument about this anyway. "Whatever. I'm tired. You need to leave. Lock the door on your way out please." I said as I turned back around and faced the window.

"Fine." I felt the bed move as he got up from it. A few moments later, when I assumed he was fully clothed, he spoke again.

"See you." He said bitterly.

"Bye." I replied neutrally.

**So there's a big messy mix of things between these two with this new development, huh? Thoughts? I KNOW you have some and you know I love to hear them. Once again, thank you guys so much for your support. It means everything.**


	9. Chapter 9

**So this is officially the longest I've gone without posting. It's definitely gotten into the crazy, busy part of the semester but thankfully there's not much left. Of the semester, I mean. As for the story, your patience and awesome reviews are completely appreciated and are what keep me going. Enjoy this one guys.**

**Jimmy's POV**

When I left Cindy's house that Saturday night, we weren't exactly on the best of terms. Her opinions on the possibility of my attending Caltech next year were unnecessary and more importantly, unwelcome. But since when has Cindy Vortex ever been one to keep her opinions to herself?

I forgave her even though she was probably half sincere about her apology. A year ago, had something like that happened, we would have given each other the silent treatment for a few days until one of us caved in and spoke to the other in the form of an insult. But we've matured, Cindy and I. We can move past childish arguments quickly and sometimes without even realizing it. I really think that we have our friendship to thank for that. It's probably because we know that if we stay mad at each other, we won't be able to spend any friendly time together. And believe me, neither one of us can seem to go very long without that.

In the past four weeks since that night at Cindy's house, we've taken to, to put it lightly, screwing each other's brains out.

It's been difficult, I won't lie. Unlike the first two times we don't have the luxury of our parents not being home whenever we want to do it. So like all rational thinking people, we've had to make do with what we've got. As much as I started disliking that small little couch down at the lab, I cannot deny how useful it became. But every time I had her bent over it or she was panting out breaths top of me, I had a sense that it wasn't right. I didn't want it to be like this, having to do this down here because we had no place else to go. She deserved better.

Of course, it's not like we're at it like a couple of animals. There have been times we've hang out without having sex. Not many admittedly, but some. Since we have midterms approaching, we've had to keep studying as a priority. And, as it has been for the last three months, it's helped a lot.

But despite all the times that we are sleeping together, there's one part of it that I'm all that happy about. Over the past couple of weeks, I have been trying to convince Cindy to start going on the pill, something which I was surprised to hear she flat out refuses to do. I could, of course whip up an oral contraceptive of my own, but with the risk being as big as it is, I know Cindy would never take an experimental drug administered by me. Not that I blame her. I don't even want to imagine what would happen if it were to fail.

While I didn't bring up the possibility of me doing that, I didn't understand why she couldn't start going on it on her own account. She provided reasons, but to me, they aren't strong enough.

"_I'd have to go to the doctor with my_ mother_. Do you know what would happen if I told her I need to start going on the pill?"_

"_She'd assume you're having sex?" I answered, knowing that's the only logical answer._

"_Exactly. Then she'll start asking all these questions which she will not let go off until she gets an answer. Personally, I'd rather her not find out about us."_

"_You don't have to tell her about us. And is that really your only reason? You don't want to tell your mother?"_

"_There's also all the side effects. Weight gain, acne breakouts. I don't want to have to deal with all that in addition to everything else I've got going on." She actually complained about that._

"_So you'd rather run the risk of gaining the weight in a completely different and uncontrollable way?"_

"_I don't see what's wrong with the protection we're using now. It's working perfectly."_

"_The pill would be a back-up. In case we need it. Just to be safe." I put as much reason into my words as I could, hoping it would be enough to persuade her._

_She sighed a huge breath and looked away and I knew that it had been._

"_I'll think about it, okay? You're right. Just let me handle it."_

"_Fine."_

That's how it ended the last time we spoke about it. So while I let it go for now, it wasn't something I would soon forget about.

But with everything that's going on between the two of us, we haven't let it stop us from continuing with the rest of our lives. It's important to remember that there are other things going on in our personal lives apart from our extremely satisfying sex example, I was told that _Discover_ magazine would be hosting a banquet honoring those on the 20 under 20 list I was chosen to be included in. I, along with nineteen of the country's brightest, will be getting our awards there. Dinner will be served and speeches will be made so it is kind of a big deal. I just found out this morning though, so apart from my parents, I haven't gotten a chance to tell anyone. I'll be seeing Cindy later today and even though it would be the perfect opportunity to tell her, I've decided to hold off on it for now. This can wait another day or two seeing how today is a much more important day for her.

Today is Cindy's eighteenth birthday.

Saying she's excited would be an understatement. And a lie, if you were to ask her how she feels about it. Ever since my own coming-of-age birthday last month, I've been telling her not to get her hopes up. All that really changes is that the United States government recognizes you as a legal adult and there are a lot more privileges that are now available to you. Other than that, for the most part, everything else pretty much stays the same.

It's Saturday so I didn't see her in school and probably wouldn't have at all had I not asked her to come down to the lab so I could give her her present. I got her something that definitely long overdue but I knew today would be the ideal day to give it to her. I hope she likes it. I really do.

"Happy birthday." I said to her as I helped her up once she landed in the lab.

With a wide smile, she replied, "Thank you. I'm surprised you actually remembered."

"With your incessant reminding, how could I forget?" I grinned.

"Funny. So it's my birthday and you asked me to come down here. I'm thinking two possibilities as to why, but I won't ruin it for you, so I'll let you explain."

"A miracle, it seems. I like what adulthood is doing to you." I was barely able to see Cindy playfully roll her eyes before I turned to get her present from one of the shelves.

I turned and handed her a small black box topped with a green ribbon. I saw both a small smile on her face and curiosity flash in her eyes as she took it, wondering what it could be. Without looking up at me, she opened it and I saw her eyes widen in surprise when she saw the silver key lying in a thin bed of cotton. Carefully, like she might break it if dropped, she took it out and held it up.

"Please don't say anything cheesy like this is the key to your heart or something like that." She warned.

With a chuckle and a shake of my head, I replied. "Well, it's something similar. That's a key to," I gestured around the room, "the lab."

Shocked, she looked back up at me

"The- what? You're- you're giving me a key to here?" I nodded calmly, the total opposite of how she was reacting. "Why? You don't just let anybody in here."

"Well, you come down here a lot." I said with a shrug. "You don't say it anymore, but I know it bothers you to use the chute. This way you can just come and go as you please without hurting yourself. Of course, I'd rather you not be in here when I'm not but...it's yours. Besides, you're not just anybody."

She broke into a smile before she spoke again.

"Thank you. This is really cool." I grinned, glad that she liked it. "But it kind of makes me feel bad that I didn't get you anything for your birthday." While she didn't get me anything of substance, it didn't bother me at all.

"You're enough." I mumbled, hoping she didn't hear. "What?"

"Just, you know," I began, mentally cursing at myself that she had heard. "with helping each other with homework and all. Us being finally somewhat amicable. That's all I really needed."

"And the sex." She said it as a statement as opposed to a question.

"Sure." I gave a weak smile because that wasn't something nearly as important as what I actually mentioned. "That too." Going back to the original topic, I spoke. "So you like it?"

"I do, really. It's one of the best gift you've ever given me."

"I haven't given you many things." Technically, that was true. But sometimes, especially in our case, it's the smallest things that mean the most.

At that, Cindy's mood seemed to change. She put the key back in the box, closed it, and started walking in the other direction.

"I-um still have the pearl you gave. On the island?"

Even though that's exactly what I was thinking about when she mentioned things I'd given her, I did not think she would bring up the pearl.

"You do?"

"Yeah." She turned back around. "I didn't make it into a necklace or anything like that. I just couldn't leave it in the hands of an unknown, so-called professional jeweler. So I-I keep it in a little box in my room. Every once in a while, I take it out to look and just think about it. How I got it and all. Then I just- I feel really happy." A part of me knew she was doing some unnecessary rambling but a bigger, more important part of me knew what she was saying and that it had a purpose. But what exactly it was, I wasn't sure.

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked.

"I guess, because-. Well, when you gave it to me, we were in a-in a good place. You and I. And now, it's like that again. Only it's better. Stronger. Unlike every other time in between. So I just thought it'd be a good time to bring it up."

I didn't say anything. I didn't know what I could say to that.

After blinking a couple of times, I was finally able to come up with a response.

"Why do you keep it?"

I took a couple of steps towards her but hoped she wouldn't feel intimidated.

"Umm, well. I-." As she stumbled over her words, I kept getting closer, having every intention to kiss her. "I-." I don't know what made me do it, but I brought my hand up to her face and pushed my fingers into her hair, something I had never done before. Nervously, she bit her lip. But that didn't stop me from continuing to lean into her.

"I have to go meet Libby." I froze, not expecting her to say that, or anything really. "I'm meeting her to eat. We're- we're getting lunch and then I'm going to dinner with my parents later, but I'm meeting her shortly. And I just- I don't want to be late, so..." I felt like I had no other choice but to retreat a step with nearly every word she spoke because she clearly didn't want me getting closer.

"Okay." I said after what seemed like hours. "I'm sure you do have other plans."

"Yeah." We couldn't even look at each other. "Thanks for the key."

"Sure. Have a good rest of your birthday."

"Thanks. I'll...see you later." Those were the final words I heard from her before she quietly made her way out of the lab.

* * *

**Cindy's POV**

I know people make a big deal about their eighteenth birthday, but as someone who is going through it, I can assure you, it's not as great as they say.

It's better.

Finally the day has come. I'm an adult, a grown up. A woman. And even though I've been feeling like one for a long time, today it's at last official.

It's Saturday thankfully, meaning that I don't have to occupy six hours of my day at school and instead spend it however I want. So lunch plans with Libby and dinner ones with my parents were made but still left me some available time to see Jimmy. Time which I was really happy about.

The gift he gave me was truly unexpected. Even though a key to the lab would have come in handy months ago, I honestly never thought he'd give me one. Asking for one didn't seem right, especially since I know how important it is for him to keep the lab private. So for him to trust me with something like this was a big deal to both me and him.

But seeing as we both have use for the lab's privacy, he likely just gave me the key out of necessity.

What we use the lab for exactly, has its own story. Ever since that Saturday night about a month ago, we've gotten each other off a countless amount of times. And I'm not even going to lie: it's amazing. Every single time. So much so that I've had to tell someone about it. After all, this is the kind of thing Libby's been waiting to hear about anyway. Her reaction when I told her about the first time was of course, enthusiastic, and at the same time, completely understandable.

"_You-. Are you serious? You and Jimmy had... _sex_?" I felt a little confused as to why she was saying that. Wasn't this supposed to be a good thing?_

"_Why do you say it like it's a bad thing?" I asked._

"_I'm not. It's just-. I'm a little shocked is all. I mean, I knew you two were thinking it but I didn't know you two knew the other was thinking it. It was only a matter of time before you guys figured it out I guess, but... Well, shit. You two really did do it, didn't you?"_

"_Yeah." I shrugged. acting like it was no big deal even though we both knew it was. "So if you still want help with your history paper, we should probably-."_

"_Oh no, you are not dropping this that easily." At that, I let out a loud reluctant groan. "Tell me _everything_." _

_And that's when the interrogations began._

"_When was it? Where? Dear Lord, do not say it was in the lab. Was it awkward at all? Was it comfortable? Oh my God, were you safe? Please tell me you were safe. Were you naked or did you wear that thing I told you to buy the last time we went to the mall? I'm going to assume he was on top but I don't want you to get offended so just correct me if I'm wrong. Was there any foreplay? Were you nervous? Did it last long? It's okay if it didn't. It was the first time. Oh, and how big is he?"_

_Before she could say another word, I put my hand up to stop her and luckily, she did._

"_I am not going to answer some of those questions." I clarified and was glad that she didn't fight me on it._

"_Okay, sorry." Libby apologized. "That was a little too pushy. I'm just happy for you. I know you and Jimmy haven't had the greatest of relationships since you met. But seeing as he's the guy you chose to lose your virginity to, I just want to make sure you don't regret it." I smiled, knowing she meant absolutely no harm._

"_I know you mean well. And I don't. I don't regret it. When I decided that I wanted to do it with him, I knew he would make me feel a certain way about the whole ordeal. Turns out I was right. I'm glad it was with him. I really am."_

"_That's good to hear." I could hear the smile in her voice. "But apart from the emotional feeling, how about the physical? Was it, you know, good? Enjoyable?"_

_I took a deep breath. I know she won't make fun of me for saying it but since this was the first time I voice it out loud, I felt that I needed to prepare myself._

"_Be aware that I plan to deny it if he asks and I expect you to do the same, but yes. I enjoyed it."_

She didn't push me much past that, as I'm sure that was all she really wanted to hear. It's not like I've told her about all the other times, but let's just say that I'm not overly concerned what she thinks of when I tell her that I'm going over to Neutron's.

Just now for instance, she probably thinks I was at his house getting some sort of special and creative birthday sex. Or she could very innocently be thinking that as is tradition during a birthday, that I am receiving a present from him.

She hasn't said a word about it during our entire meal though, so I can only imagine she's thinking the former.

As we were down to the last few sips of our iced teas after our plates were taken away, Libby clapped her hands once to draw my attention.

"So, time for your birthday present." Libby announced with a wide smile. She was clearly confident that I would like whatever she had to give, as she should be, because I always do.

Taking it out of her purse, she slid a dark blue envelope across the table to me with eager eyes and I could tell this was something she has been waiting to show me for a while. Returning her smile, I picked it up and removed what was inside. It was a simple birthday card, very generic looking on the outside but I knew the inside would contain a much more personal touch.

When I opened it, three slips of paper slid out and nearly off the table had I not managed to stop them. The first two I noticed were boarding passes addressed to Libby and I. But I wasn't able to make out what the abbreviated destination was short for. The other was a single page, official looking advertisement to a very famous ski resort in Colorado. With the wheels in my head turning, I was able to, hopefully correctly, put two and two together.

"Wait a second. Does this mean-?"

"Yes!" Libby exclaimed, clearly unable to contain the excitement and secret any longer. "For your birthday present, we are going to Aspen!"

Even though that's pretty much what I had figured out, hearing her actually say it felt totally different. In a good way, obviously.

"Oh my God! Are you serious?! But how is this possible? How can you even afford this?"

"My dad's job bonus or whatever. A benefit of his, I think. He asked if I wanted the trip for us and I said yes so he talked to his company and they're totally okay with it. We're not cheating them or anything. It's all cleared and it's all paid for. Cindy," she reached across my table and took my hand like she were trying to extend even more joy to me, "we're going to Aspen!"

Hearing her say it again felt more like a dream and therefore, even more unbelievable. I smiled so widely, I had to cover my face with my hand. Libby sat there, beaming that she had finally been able to tell me about this. I looked down at the boarding passes and ad and shook my head in disbelief.

"This is incredible! I- oh my God... this is so cool!" I ended with a laugh. "I guess I'll have to tell my parents about it tonight." I made a mental note to do that over dinner.

"Oh, my parents and I have gone over it with yours already." Libby began, shocking me for the second time today. "They're completely fine with it and they said they'll buy you anything you need for the trip. Cindy, it's your birthday. You can have whatever you want." She explained when she saw how taken aback I must have looked. After exchanging smiles, she continued. "So, we leave on the twenty-second and we'll be gone for all of Christmas break, straight through the New Year. Everything's already planned out. Where we're staying, what we're doing, all that. It is such a relief to finally be able to tell you this. I am so excited!"

"I am too! I- I don't even know what to say."

"Well, for starters, a thank you would be nice." She said playfully, and reminded me that I had yet to do that.

"Thank you. I can't..." I paused and drifted off, trying to think of something that I hadn't already said that would show her how much I loved this gift. "This is the best gift I've ever gotten."

**Horray for a free birthday vacation! And for your eighteenth, no less. Again, I apologize for the wait but thank you all for being so patient. Drop me some reviews so I can know what you think!**

**Also: ANNOUNCEMENT! I doubt I'll get it in this chapter so I'm letting you know in advance that as I did for the 50th, the 100th reviewer will get a special treat. This lucky person will get an interview with me! A to-be-determined number of questions to ask me whatever you want. The only conditions are: you cannot ask for spoilers (at least not directly) and you cannot ask anything about my personal life. I'm excited for this, you guys. Thank you so much for reading and I cannot wait to hear what you all think!**


	10. Chapter 10

**You guys are too much. One of these days you're going to make my head all big. Probably not as big as Jimmy's, but still. Thank you guys. I can never express how much I appreciate the love.**

**So here's an extremely random casting. I put a face to Cindy's mom, which I guess isn't**

**entirely weird since she was briefly mentioned in the last chapter. The tough-as-nails matriarch of the Vortex household is Carla Gugino. She is perhaps best known for her role as the tough-as-nails matriarch in the Spy Kids movies, so it's not too far a stretch. **

**I can't believe we're already at ten chapters. But as always, I hope you enjoy it.**

"So have you banged Cindy yet?" It was a typical weekend afternoon in which Carl, Sheen, and I spent just hanging out at Sheen's house playing video games. It was a good break from studying for midterms even though I, being in the more advanced classes, have more to worry about.

That intrusive question was asked by Sheen who apparently decided to ignore all formalities and let his curiosity get the better of him.

"Way to be tactful, Sheen." Carl answered exactly what I was thinking. But it didn't stop me from answering anyway.

"As a matter of fact, yes." I replied, and I couldn't help but say it with a bit of pride in my tone.

"Wait, seriously? You guys have had sex?" Carl appeared shocked by the news but kept his eyes glued to the television.

"Yeah." I replied nonchalantly. "We both wanted to and we had been hooking up for a while at that point so we figured 'why not?'."

"Nice." Sheen answered and I saw him nod in approval from the corner of my eye. "She any good?"

"So how long have you two been doing it?" Carl asked, promptly ignoring Sheen's overly curious question.

"Like about six weeks."

"And you're just now telling us?" He spoke again and I noticed he took a quick look at me. I let out a laugh when I answered.

"Well, you never brought it up." He laughed in reply and Sheen sat there not thinking it was funny, and probably wondering if I was going to answer his question. "Besides, I know you two have been quite...verbal with your experiences, but I would rather keep that part of my life private."

"Why? It's not like we're going to tell anybody." Sheen, unsurprisingly, asked.

"Because it's none of your business." I tried to keep the frustration out of my voice at the fact that I actually had to answer that. "The details of Cindy and mine's sex life are going to remain between the two of us."

"You realize she probably told Libby everything, right?" Carl spoke this time, and while I had thought of that, something told me that this was one of those things that she would rather keep the majority of to herself. I shrugged in response, knowing they may not be able to see it because of their visual attention being on the TV.

"I'm sure she wouldn't want me talking too much about it anyway."

"Since when do you care about what she wants from you?"

"I don't. I'm just trying not to be a douchebag about the whole thing." Neither one of the fought back so I assumed that particular conversation was over.

For a few minutes, we stayed quiet and focused on the game in front of us. The console was actually an invention of mine that I created a couple of years ago. I call it the PlayPlanet, able to be compatible with any game made for any other console. I've only made three though: one for Sheen, Carl, and I.

"I still can't believe they're going to Aspen in a couple of days." Sheen brought up at last.

"I can't believe how calm you are about it. And you Jimmy." Carl spoke.

With a furred eyebrow, I risked my virtual death and turned to look at him. "Sheen I get, but why wouldn't I be okay with it?"

It was a terrible choice on their part to turn and look at each other suspiciously.

"What?" I demanded to know.

"Nothing." Carl began. "Just- don't you think you'll miss Cindy?"

"I guess, but not really." I answered. "It's not like she's moving there. They'll only be gone a little over a week." Carl shrugged dismissively, almost as if he regretted saying that.

After that, only a few words were exchanged and a half hour passed before I excused myself and went home. On the way there, my mind went back to the conversation we were having prior to me leaving.

I was still confused. Clearly, being her boyfriend, Sheen would have more than enough reason to miss Libby. Cindy's my friend and all, one who I'm repeatedly having sex with, but I would hardly say that gives me enough leverage for me to be able to miss her while she's away. If the roles were reversed, she wouldn't think much of it. She'd be happy that I get to go on a trip like this and hope that I have a good time. Wouldn't she?

I don't see why not. I certainly do. They're extremely lucky to be able to go on a vacation like this at no expense to them. And with the stress that comes along with senior year of high school, both of them definitely deserve it. I hope they have fun. I really do.

But I'll still miss Cindy.

And I don't just mean I'll miss _her, _as in like, her body. I mean that I'll miss her, all of her, a lot.

Our relationship has gotten amazing ever since we started this and I will never cease to be impressed by that. What began as an impulsive, ill thought out suggestion on my part actually turned out to be one of the best things to ever happen to us, at least I like to think so. No way in hell or any other dimension of space would our relationship have progressed this far in this short of time had we not agreed to become friends with benefits. Even though, prior to starting this, we weren't picking on each other nearly as much as we used to when we were kids, it's still great to see how amicable we are, both sexually and platonically.

I really enjoy spending time with her, no matter what we do during it. If I'm being honest, the way I feel about her hasn't changed. It's only grown. I've always liked how smart she is. And tough and independent. I won't even deny how beautiful she is. I mean, she always has been but the way she's developed in the past few years is definitely something that I, as well as many other people, have noticed. I also really can't ignore her competitive nature and her proud arrogance as that's really what's got me and the whole 'us' thing going.

I'm not an idiot and I don't just mean in terms of my IQ. I am fully aware that people around school, even around town, say and think things in regards to Cindy and mine's relationship. While I don't know details, I can make an educated guess. One that would explain all the looks I've noticed and hushed whispers I've heard nearly every time Cindy and I are in the same room. It would also be an explanation as to why we ended up drunk and dry humping in a bedroom at our classmate's house shortly before senior year started.

Everyone thinks we like each other, that much I can gather. They'd undoubtedly have a never-ending field day if they found out what Cindy and I have been doing for the past few months. And if they ever did, they would know that no deeper feeling should exist from it. Nothing beyond the feeling of pleasure we get from the other is supposed to be present in this arrangement.

I know that and Cindy knows that. Anybody that has knowledge of this particular type of relationship knows that.

So then why am I lately getting a feeling that there is something else there?

It's not something I can answer with science. I've spent countless hours going over this in my head, trying to come up with something numerical or at the very least theoretical for why I am sensing that there is more to my relationship with Cindy than just sexual satisfaction. It's not something she would want to talk about either seeing as this would likely fall under the third rule of our agreement, which is one that she made up.

Needless to say, thinking about this has taken up most of my time and therefore become incredibly distracting. Even now, with exams over and winter break officially on, as I'm sitting at my desk in my room, I can't fully focus on working on blueprints for an upgrade on the rocket without Cindy entering my thoughts.

And it definitely didn't help that my mom was calling me from downstairs, on her way out to go to the store, saying that Cindy was coming up to see me.

Before I could even register that, a light knock came from the entrance. The door was open so Cindy just knocked on the wooden door frame. I turned my seat and stood up, surely looking as surprised as I felt. Cindy was supposed to be leaving today and I had already said goodbye to her before we left school.

"Am I interrupting something?" Cindy said in a tone which sounded worried that she actually was.

"No, no." Because she really wasn't. "Come in.", I spoke even though she had already taken a few steps in."I-um wasn't expecting to see you until next year." She was dressed comfortably, in a red sweater and jeans. Traveling clothes, I realized.

"Well, my flight doesn't leave for another four hours so I just wanted to come and say goodbye. Again." She finished with a light laugh.

I spoke primarily to avoid getting into an uncomfortable silence with her, even though I didn't really know how to respond to that.

"Oh. Um, great. Cool." I'm not sure if I was only imagining her bite her lip. "Are you all packed?"

"Yeah." She nodded. "Just finished."

"You excited?" I asked, not really sure what else there was to say.

"Definitely." She replied more cheerfully. "I mean, all things considered, it is kind of a once in a lifetime opportunity. How often do you get to go on a free vacation, right?"

"Yeah." I nodded in agreement. Cindy, despite being the one that came here, didn't really seem like she would be saying anything. But she didn't seem to be making any move to leave either. That's not to mean I want her to, at least not yet. "So what kind of things do you guys have planned to do while you're there?"

"Well, I heard it's snowy and cold there, so working on my tan is probably out of the question." We laughed together and her eyes lit up in joy, once again reminding me of all the fun she would have once she got on that plane. "I'm not sure really. Libby knows. She has all that planned out. If you really want to know though, I'll send you a postcard."

"A postcard?" I asked. "Did you forget that you own me a birthday present?" I joked. Cindy laughed again.

"Okay then. A souvenir."

"Only if you find time in your most likely busy schedule."

"I'm positive that Libby will allow time for shopping."

"That's true." I laughed.

"Is there anything in particular that you want?"

I lightly shook my head as I replied. "Whatever you think I would like."

It was now that I realized how much closer we had gotten to each other. There was less than a foot separating us. But neither one of us seemed to be retracting any time soon.

Before I knew what was happening, she was in my arms and her lips were on mine.

There was something was different about this kiss. I knew it would be the last one before she returned from Aspen, but it felt more like it would be the last one in a much longer time than that. Even though I didn't really understand that, all I could think about was that we really should make it count.

So I kissed her with a passion I didn't even know I had.

Before it could get any farther, she pulled away from my lips but remained close.

"Your mom..." She murmured, and I knew that she was scared that my mom would come upstairs and see us any minute.

"Is doing groceries and will be back in a couple of hours." She didn't reply but by the way she went back to kissing me, I could tell she was no longer worried about it.

With my lips ghosting over hers, I asked, "One last time before you leave?"

She exhaled shakily and I knew she knew exactly what I meant. "Yes." She said so softly I could barely hear her.

As if we read each other's minds, we pulled away long enough to remove our own top clothing. Our lips met once more before we toppled down to my bed.

* * *

This marked the first time we had ever slept together after sex. Well, at least one of us. I didn't want to wake her up though. I knew she needed this.

Since midterms are finally over, she has one less thing to literally keep her up at night. She wants nothing more than do well and has been working her hardest to ensure it. Cindy did excellent though, I know she did, and I'm not just saying that because she's been studying with me. She's just brilliant.

I don't know how exactly it happened so I couldn't do anything to stop it, but within a couple of minutes of her falling asleep, she had, unconsciously I assume, swung an arm around my chest and placed her head on my shoulder. She had scooted close enough that I could feel her leg brushing against mine whenever it moved. The whole thing happened so quickly that I had no time to situate myself and ended up keeping an arm around her so that I could get comfortable. But her being in this state or not, I didn't mind this. Not in the slightest.

I'll never get an opportunity like this and I know it. I would fall asleep too but instead found myself unable to look away from her resting form.

I could look at Cindy every day for the rest of my life and never see her the way I'm seeing her now. With her lips slightly pursed and the tips of her eyelashes against her skin, I have never seen her looking more peaceful and at home with herself. It's as if her being like this, serene and not her usual fiery, active self, allowed me to see her clearly. She was unknowingly exposing every part of herself, including some parts that I know she would never want anyone else to see or know about. And the fact that I get to witness it must stand for something.

She trusts me. I know that much. She trusted me enough to lose her virginity to me and to enter this type of relationship with me in the first place. She trusts me enough not to tell anyone about it. She trusts me enough to help her with her homework and study for tests, despite that we're supposed to be competing for the highest overall grade point average.

Cindy trusted me even as children, when I would jettison us and our closest friends to the most dangerous, unpredictable places in the universe. Whenever she was under the effects of my inventions, she would trust me enough to get her out of them, no matter how hesitant she was about it. She trusts me so much that when we were stranded on that deserted island, she knew I'd be able to keep us alive and when it came time for it, get us out.

The island.

The only time I've seen her asleep. And now, of course, years later.

There's something about the way seeing people asleep, and in Cindy's case, out of her element, that affects not how you feel, but how you come to realize it.

Cindy's more than just a headstrong, take-no-BS attitude with a surprisingly soft exterior. While I have always known that, I never thought about what it meant to me. It shouldn't mean anything, really. What does the way Cindy is have anything to do with me? More importantly, why?

But the question isn't even that. It should be, why does it matter? Why does any of it, our arrangement, our intimacy, the improvement in our relationship, even matter?

Looking at her here and now in this calm state, had a strong impact on me. The question and answer both came in one jolt.

Just as I was about to string the words together in my mind, she stirred.

Within a few seconds, she had blinked enough that she was fully awake. By then, I had looked away enough that she wouldn't suspect that I was watching her sleep. Once she realized where she was and what position she was in, however, she sat up quickly, still facing me, and covered her chest with the sheet.

"S- sorry." She let out. I didn't respond since she had nothing to be sorry for. "How long was I asleep?" I heard the slightly alarmed tone in her voice.

"Only a few minutes." She nodded as she looked away while gently biting her lip. Even though we both knew she couldn't stay much longer, she didn't make any move to indicate her departure. And I certainly wasn't going to tell her to leave.

"Umm." She didn't look at me when she said it. In fact, she couldn't seem to look at me at all. "I should get going now." It wasn't until she finished that sentence that she looked at me.

I looked into her eyes and spoke.

"I'm not kicking you out."

After another beat of silence, she replied.

"I-I have to go. Libby will kill me if I'm late meeting her at the airport." As she spoke, she removed the sheet from her body and started to redress herself. "I'll see you when I get back though." She continued, this time in a much lighter tone, as she was putting on her shoes. "I won't forget your gift. Promise." She gave me a small smile which I half returned, not even caring if she brought me back a souvenir or not.

She ran her fingers through her hair a couple of times to untangle it before she faced me again.

"Have a good break."

. "You too." I replied.

"Try not to cause too much trouble around here."

"I can't guarantee anything." She didn't seem to have paid attention because her gaze on me only grew more intently. And with that, everything that hit me moments before came flooding back. The meaning, reason, and the infinitely strongest, the feeling. The only difference being that, unlike a few minutes ago, she was awake and I could tell her.

I should.

"I'll see you next year then." She spoke in parting and I knew if I didn't say anything now, I might not at all.

Instead, all I could promise was a stiff smile and a nod.

With a wider grin, she stood up and walked towards the door.

_Say it. _I thought.

_NOW._

"Bye." She bid and flashed me her smile one last time before closing the door behind her, leaving me in an empty room, yet with a sensation that is anything but.

It wasn't until she was gone that could finally say the words that I had been wanting to get out.

"I love you_._"

* * *

**Cindy's POV**

It wasn't a long flight, but despite all my excitement, I slept through most of it anyway.

We landed in Colorado fairly quickly and Libby, already anxious to officially begin our trip, had been the one to wake me up. The airport itself was close to where we needed to be so we took the provided shuttle to arrive at our hotel. As thriving as Aspen's nightlife appeared to be from all I've read and seen on their website, we both found ourselves too tired to fully enjoy it and decided to head to bed since it was already pretty late and we had to be awake early tomorrow for our first skiing lesson.

"Are you nervous?" Libby asked me as we were settling into our separate beds. "I know you've never been skiing before."

"A little bit." I admitted even though I knew there was not much to be nervous about. "They provide lessons for a reason. It obviously doesn't come easy to everybody." She smiled in response, knowing I was right. "Where are we meeting them again?" By 'them', I meant the instructors that were assigned to us plus the group we would be taught with.

"Lobby, nine AM, by the fireplace." With a groan, I looked towards the alarm clock on the bedside table, confirming my suspicion of how little sleep I'd be getting. Not seeming to notice, Libby shut off the lamp next to the alarm clock, bid me a "good night!" in the dark, and apparently had a much easier time falling asleep than I did.

Once I finally did manage to do so, it wasn't for very long. Maybe it was my impatience or just my curiosity that led me to walking towards the huge window at the end of the room. As I approached it, I tightened my night robe around myself due to how cold it was getting. When I reached it, I pushed the blinds back just enough to be able to see the sky.

I do live in the suburbs, far enough from the city that I am able to see the night sky, but it has never been like this. Here, up high in the mountains with practically no interference, I have never seen anything like what I'm looking at now. At least, not in the intangible sense.

By staring out the window, I don't know what I was expecting to find. This definitely felt like one of those 'looking but not seeing' situations. But maybe that was only temporary. Maybe what it meant was that I'm going to find what I'm looking for while here in Aspen for the next ten days. The only problem is that I wasn't at all aware that I was looking for something.

* * *

Miraculously, Libby and I had made it down to the lobby awake and bright eyed at the time we were supposed to be with a hearty breakfast eaten as was recommended in our info packets. Looking around, there were a lot of people seated by and around the fireplace, nearly none of which seemed prepared for a day out on the slopes. Based on the look on her face, Libby seemed to be thinking the same.

I would have made a comment or question if we were in the right place, had I not heard a voice that could have only really be aimed at us.

"You must be Cindy and Libby." The words came from someone behind us. When we turned and saw who the voice was coming from, a feeling that could only be described as a skipping flutter ran through me.

Once the person at hand had approached us, he continued. "I'll be one of your instructors this week." He stuck his hand of for us to shake and even though I did it, I was way more edgy about it than I should have been. "My name is Liam. Liam Lincoln."

He smiled.

**...I'm dying to know what you think, perhaps now more than ever. Keep calm (seriously) and review on. I'm also really curious to know... any theories?**


	11. Chapter 11

**Boy, have I got some splaining to do...**

**It looks like a new job along with some personal issues took a lot more out of me than I thought it would. And I do have to admit, writing this chapter was VERY difficult. Thank you for being patient and if you weren't, thank you for not harassing me to finish it. **

**Also, huge hugs and kisses to you all for the love I received last chapter. I have been waiting for you guys to read it and hopefully it didn't disappoint. So the celebrity I have fan-cast as Liam is... Chace Crawford! Best known for playing the rich playboy, Nate on Gossip Girl (which I love), he was the first one I thought of to distract Cindy during her vacation and make her feel the way she did with just one glance. Here is the highly awaited chapter eleven! **

**Cindy's POV**

"So which one is-?" Liam began as his eyes shifted between Libby and I which lead me to realizing that I hadn't properly introduced myself and simply stood there staring at him like an idiot.

"I'm Libby. This is Cindy." Libby replied casually and with a friendly smile, unaware that I was unable to speak and that the guy standing in front of us is the reason why.

"Cool. It's nice to meet you both. If you'll follow me, I'll take you to where we'll be meeting your other instructor." Before either one of us was able to speak, he turned and began walking.

"Aren't we supposed to be in a group? Shouldn't we wait for everyone else?" I heard the confused tone in her voice as we both trailed behind Liam. I suppose it was better than what I was saying, which up to this point, was nothing.

"Oh, they didn't tell you?" He turned to face us but continued to walk backward. "Your skiing lesson package has been upgraded. A five day, private instruction instead of the three day, small group you originally had. Don't ask how or why, I wouldn't know. I just teach the skiing." He ended with a chuckle as he turned back around. Libby clearly didn't think much of it, as she asked no further questions and I wasn't sure I could say anything that wouldn't come out sounding incoherent.

As we were making our way towards where we will be picking up our rental equipment as well as meeting our other instructor, he slowed down to walk between us.

"So where you girls from?" Knowing this would be the perfect opportunity to say something, I spoke to answer his question before Libby was able to.

"Texas." I said as coolly as I could.

"Seriously? So am I."

"Oh." I replied defeatedly. As I didn't plan to say anything apart from telling him what my home state is, I was taken aback and wasn't able to reply to anything else he said.

"Yeah, we are..." By the way Libby said that, I could tell she sensed that something was off with me and that she will undoubtedly bring it up later. "What part are you from?" She asked Liam.

"San Antonio. But I'm studying at UT. I'm working here for three weeks during winter break."

"Oh, you're in college?" Libby again.

"Just finished my first semester." He replied. "How about you?" While he appeared to be singling out Libby, the way he looked a both of us said that that question was directed to me as well.

"Cindy and I are actually seniors in high school. This trip is her eighteenth birthday present from me." And so Libby's ploy to get me to talk to this guy, despite that she can see how completely unprepared I am for it, has been enacted. Why she seems to always put me in these positions, I'll never know.

Bless her for it though.

As if he got the memo too, he turned to me and spoke.

"Well, happy late birthday."

"Thank you." I spoke a little more confidently.

"When was it?"

"Umm." It was impossible to not notice Libby distance herself a few steps away. "A little over two weeks ago."

"Nice. So you're a senior, huh?"

"Yeah." I smiled at him to try to keep it cool even though I felt more and more like a measly high school freshman with each word I spoke.

"I hate to sound like an adult here, but what are you doing after you graduate?" He asked and I really liked how sincerely curious he appeared to be. That apparently, shifted something in me that made me a lot more comfortable talking to him.

"Well, there's really been nothing in my plans other than college. I've already sent out all my applications so now I'm just playing the waiting game."

"Ugh, that sucks. I hated that part." It was great that he sympathized, because I really am starting to feel that way now. "What's your top choice?"

"Um, I'm really hoping to get into Columbia." I don't know why, but I felt so self-conscious saying that to him.

"Oh, so you're a genius." He said it as a statement with a slight raise of an eyebrow.

"That's not really it." I replied, thinking of the one person I knew who was, in fact, a genius. "It's just that it's a very good school."

He grinned. Not in a condescending way, but more like he was showing support.

"Well, I hope you get in. That'd be really cool if you did." The smile he had on this time around was strong enough for me to turn my face to hide the tint of pink on my cheeks.

We didn't speak again after that until we got to the small building that housed the skiing equipment and according to Liam, the location of where our other instructor would be. His name was Jeff and while they told Libby and I that they hadn't known each other prior to beginning to work here only about a week before our own arrival, you could never tell that by seeing their interactions and how well they got along together.

After a quick verbal instruction as well as showing us, mainly me, who was completely new to this, how to use the skis, the boys felt we were ready enough for the real thing.

I like to pride myself in the fact that I'm open to new experiences and trying new things. While learning how to ski wasn't exact in my plans for winter break, I could not have been happier at the chance to learn. And it really wasn't a bad thing that the instructor we had met first was so nice and... well... attractive.

It's safe to say that I'm not the kind of girl to just fall heads over heels for any good-looking guy that comes my way and I'm certainly not doing that now. But in particular cases, some people just cannot be overlooked.

The first thing I noticed was his smile, Even when he was still a few feet away from Libby and I back at the lodge, the way he approached us just propelled confidence and his bright, genuine smile topped it all off. Though it was a little darker in the lodge than I would have liked, his shining blue eyes gave an illumination to the room that probably went unnoticed by everyone else but me. His brown hair, which is now mostly hidden under a hat he put on as we got outside, was short and shaggy and while it looked perfect the way it was, all I wanted to do was run my hands through it. He had a growing scruff on his chin but there was somehow still a fresh youthfulness to him that I couldn't deny I was curious to know more about.

I may have only known him for a grand total of about twenty minutes, but that's all it took to ensure that I want to know him more.

* * *

I don't have much experience with flirting.

Honestly, I've never really had the need to do it. Unlike most girls my age, I don't stay up nights wondering how I'm going to get the cute boy in my history class to ask me to the spring dance. I've got undoubtedly more important things to worry about. But I would say that the lack of experience is definitely taking a toll on me. Seeing as how, despite that Libby and I are just about to finish day three of our lesson, I still seem to be stuck on the awkward part of flirting with only the occasional genuine exchanges. Even though I can see all the defects in my execution, I'm still hopeful that Liam finds all of it endearing.

"Alright, that's it for today. We'll pick up here tomorrow. Good job girls." Liam said shortly after he, Libby, and Jeff had arrived at our checkpoint flawlessly and I had finally made it after slowly but surely stumbling my way over there.

That's something I've learned about myself during my time here.

I am terrible at skiing.

And it's not that I'm secretly good and pretending to be bad so that Liam will help me more. I am sincerely, one hundred percent bad at this. However, having never strapped my foot onto a ski before flying up here, and yet getting as far as I have must mean that some progress has occurred in the past three days. So I'll be sure to thank those who are responsible for the instruction.

Jeff helped me remove my skis which ended with him giving me a sympathetic smile, me thanking him for his help, and him heading back with Libby where I knew they would continue their conversation on the possibility of taking on some bigger slopes during the next lesson.

Being left alone with each other, Liam approached me.

"You okay?"

"No. I'm horrible at this." I huffed as I brushed snow off my shoulder and was internally glad that Liam reached out and did the same.

"You're not horrible. You're a beginner. It's going to take you a while to fully get the hang of it, but I think you're doing pretty well."

"You're just saying that." I replied, even though he probably really wasn't.

"No, honestly. I've had some people that still couldn't balance themselves properly after three lessons. You're doing great."

"Well," I began, already changing the tone of my voice. "I do have a pretty good instructor."

"Yeah, Jeff's great. He's been skiing since he was a kid." Knowing that he was kidding around, I cocked my head to the side and replied.

"I meant you."

"Oh, did you now?"

"Uh huh." I nodded.

"You really think I'm a good instructor?"

"Either that or I'm a quick learner."

"It could be both."

"I suppose so." He smiled and let out a laugh when I said that and I didn't think he would say much else.

"But good job today. Seriously."

I had to bite my lip to keep my grin from splitting my face apart. "Thanks."

We stood there for a moment, unable to look away from each other or say anything else.

"I have to get to the next lesson so..." Liam started and trailed off.

"Oh, yeah, sure. Okay." And the prospect of us separating left me defeated.

"I'll see you for the next one." He nodded as if by confirming it, he was making a promise to me.

"Yeah, of course." With that, to not make it look like I was clinging, I took the first steps in directions to the lodge, knowing Liam would be headed the opposite way. "See ya."

"Bye." As he turned back around, I didn't fail to notice the look in his eyes that I've only seen once before. On someone else.

* * *

I stared at my computer screen in shock. I didn't want to blink since I thought doing so would make the page disappear. The sound of Libby speaking to me from inside the bathroom became a faint noise. Had she not emerged from the room at that moment with her freshly dried hair, I wouldn't have even remembered that she was there at all.

"Cindy? What's wrong?" She sounded alarmed and took a couple of steps closer to me.

I really was giving her every reason to question if something was the matter since I sat motion and speechless. The trace of happiness I thought I was displaying clearly wasn't enough.

After another moment passed, mainly used so that I could take in the news, I spoke.

"I was just checking my e-mail and well," I had planned to add a little more flair while trying to stay completely calm about it. But with news like this, there is just no way. "I got into Columbia!"

"What?! Oh my God Cindy, that's incredible! Congratulations!" She exclaimed as she embraced me in a tight hug. "This is huge Cindy. I'm so happy for you." She released me.

"Thank you." I replied with a wide smile. "That was so unexpected. I didn't think I'd hear from them this early. Of course, let alone get in."

"Well, no one deserves it more than you Cindy. Did you ever really have a doubt?"

I answered with a shrug and a smile that was intended to be humble. Libby laughed lightly in return as she sat on my bed.

"Have you told Jimmy yet?"

"Libby, I _just_ found out." I reminded her as I joined her on the bed. "I haven't even told my parents yet. I'll just call them later. They'll want to know as soon as possible. I'll tell Jimmy when I get back though. A call or a text just seems so... impersonal. He knows how much I really wanted to get in. Telling him in person will be best."

With a nod in agreement, she continued, "Alright, whatever you want to do. We really have to go out and celebrate later though."

"Okay."

"I was going to bring this up anyway but now that we have more of a reason... What do you say we take the shuttle into town tonight for dinner and the best hot chocolate in the state?"

"That sounds great! Let's do it."

"And while we're there, we can get some shopping done." Seeing as she said it while standing up and putting her jacket on, I suppose she didn't think I would have entirely caught what she said. But as always, I do.

"I was wondering when you were going to mention that." I said as I started slipping my arms into my own jacket.

"Well, we have to get it done at some point!" She argued with a smile as she made her way out of our room with me trailing close behind her.

* * *

We're hugging.

I've known the guy for less amount of days than I can count on both hands and we're embracing. A real one too. It's not one of those awkward and hesitant ones that feel forced because you're unsure if a hug is the appropriate thing to do. But it is apparently, because it's not every day that that seemingly hopeless southern girl you're teaching how to ski gets accepted to an Ivy League university.

Which is the reason I'm in Liam's arms right now, inhaling his freshly shaven scent and wishing he wasn't going to pull away in a few seconds.

"That is amazing. Congratulations." He said seriously.

"Thank you." I smiled in return, but felt a little guilty that I was slightly more grateful at hearing his praise than Libby's.

"So are you going to go then? To Columbia?" He asked as we started heading back to the lodge. Due to a prior commitment, Jeff had to leave our lesson a early and wasn't around when it officially ended. Libby, being so clever, used this to her advantage and excused herself immediately after the lesson was over but not before reminding me of the big important news I received this morning and how I _had_ to tell Liam about it. Not seeing an escape, I ended up telling him about my acceptance, which resulted in the unexpected yet highly appreciated hug.

"Yeah, I suppose." I began answering his question. "I mean, this is an early action acceptance and for Columbia, those are binding. Unless there's a big reason why financially it can't work out then it looks like I'll be moving to New York in September!" That being the first time it crossed my mind since I got word of my admittance, made me nearly jump for joy at saying it out loud.

"That's awesome. Think you'll adjust easily?"

"I don't know." I answered honestly. "That'll be the farthest and longest I've ever been away from home in my entire life. I'll be homesick a lot I'm sure, missing my family and friends... but you're in college. You know what it's like."

"Yeah, I'll admit: it will be a little difficult to get used to it, being on your own and all, especially if you haven't made any friends yet. But play your cards right and you'll fit right in, I promise." He ended with another one of his signatures smiles, which I easily returned.

After a couple of moments of silence, he spoke up again.

"So um, any plans for tonight?" He asked as he held the door open for me while we entered the equipment room.

In all the excitement on finding out I got into Columbia and knowing I would be seeing Liam again, I had completely forgotten that today is New Year's Eve. If it hadn't been for him even bringing it up, I might have forgotten about how I planned to celebrate it.

"Oh, um, well, Libby and I were actually planning on going to the party over at the main lodge. We don't want to just stay in our room and celebrate by ourselves and we heard it was going to be pretty good so..." I trailed off, knowing that I had explained myself properly. "Why do you ask?"

"I was, um, planning on going too. I was asking because I was wondering actually if you'd want to go. With me. To the party. But I should have realized you were going with Libby. You guys are here together and all. It wouldn't make sense for you to go without her."

_Oh. My. _God.

Is this really happening?

"Um, yeah. Yeah err, I wouldn't be able to go with you. Because I have to go with Libby and all. So, sorry. I-I would have loved to though. Really. Just- just so you know."

"Cool." He replied casually with a nod and his hands in his pockets. "It would have been great to have gotten to go with you." I gave a half smile at how terrible I felt turning down his invitation.

"But you're- you're still going to go right? I wouldn't want me to be the reason you miss out on it." I thought of it quickly, really hoping I wasn't the reason he wouldn't be able to have fun tonight.

"Yeah, I'll still go. Of course. I'll just go with some guys from work."

"Okay, cool."

"Yeah."

"Then I guess I'll see you there, right?" I gently bit my lip immediately after because despite that I wanted to say that, I didn't expect myself to get so audacious all of a sudden.

"Definitely." I could swear I saw his eyes light up.

"Okay." I replied nearly breathlessly. "I'm- I'm going to go get lunch then." While I wasn't entirely hungry, I knew that if I didn't leave the room right away I would be unable to move in the foreseeable future.

"Alright. I'll see you tonight." I don't know how it was possible but there was a longing tone to his voice that did not go unnoticed.

Knowing there was no way I would be able to say anything intelligibly, I only gave a single nod before departing the room.

* * *

Surprisingly, Libby understood my rejection of Liam's invitation despite that she did completely freak out when I told her about it. It's not as if Liam and I are going to be in two totally different locations which is probably why she was so accepting of me going with her as opposed to him. Still, as much as I wish that I was going with Liam instead, I never forgot that if it hadn't been for Libby, I wouldn't be here in the first place.

"So do you guys know what time you're meeting?" We were in a more secluded and therefore quieter section of the party so I was able to hear Libby a lot better than I would have otherwise.

"We didn't make plans or anything." I explained. "We just knew we would likely see each other here and that it would be a nice way of saying good bye. Since we may not see each other ever again."

"That makes sense. Have you seen him?"

"No." It's not like I was actively searching him out though.

For the next half hour or so, we spent it dancing and talking and in some cases, saying goodbye to people we had met during our stay here. At around ten thirty, however, I felt a hand on the small of my back and sure enough, when I turned to see who it was, Liam was standing besides me, greeting the two of us.

It wasn't until I saw him standing there in semi-formal attire that I realized this is the first time I'm seeing him out of skiing gear and equipment. And my God, was it a nice change.

He made the very casual black pants and maroon shirt look seem extravagantly elegant. His black tie probably had something to do with it. He must have that type of hair that refuses to cooperate because while it looked like he was trying to manage it, it ended up in its usual messiness. His smile, which never really seemed to go away, was directed at me, and if it weren't for his lips moving, I wouldn't have noticed he was speaking to me.

"Are you having fun?" He thankfully repeated.

"Yeah." I nodded. "Especially now."

"So it was nice to see you again Liam," Libby began. "But you'll have to excuse me. It's nearly midnight back home and I told my boyfriend I'd call him so we can do his countdown together." All that was completely true as Libby had informed me of that plan earlier today. Being that Retroville is an hour ahead of Aspen, a phone call was probably the only way she and Sheen could be together when the New Year rang in. I expected her to call closer to our eleven o'clock hour as opposed to nearly twenty minutes before it. But Libby, always being one to take advantage when the opportunity presents itself, used this moment to excuse herself.

"Okay, cool. " He said with a nod of understanding. "If I don't see you, Happy New Year."

"Thank you. You too." She turned to me. "I'll see you later." And she managed to say it without any suggestive undertones.

She left promptly and only then did I start getting nervous. Here at a party, a social situation where people are dancing, talking, and laughing, there is an inexplicable amount of pressure. Of what exactly, I'm not sure. But being here, in this setting, is something completely new to us. I don't think we ever thought we would find ourselves like this, at least not me. It's not like when Liam and I are walking up a mountain or returning the equipment. Seeing him out of context changes things. And as fearful as I am about it, I really want to see just how much it does change.

"So, here we are." I smiled up at him.

"Here we are." He repeated and smiled back. Just as I had expected, this was a little awkward at first. Being out of our usual element should have been clue enough. "So are you excited to go back home tomorrow?" I was grateful that he brought up something to talk about.

"I don't know if excited is the right word. Home is home, you know, I have to go back eventually. But I've loved it here. It's beautiful and exciting and I don't think I've ever been anywhere like this. If I could, I would definitely stay longer."

"I'd have you stay longer too." He said it so softly and so quickly that even though I thought I heard him, I really wanted him to restate it.

"What?"

"Sorry." He shook his head and looked the other way, not expecting that I would ask him to repeat himself. "I just umm, I'm glad you enjoyed yourself. It's fun here and err- I liked having you here. Since it's your last day and all I just wanted to- well never mind, just forget it."

"No, no." I began encouraging him to keep going, wanting more than anything to keep him talking. "What is it?" He hesitated as if he were thinking of the right way to start, but thankfully he soon continued.

"I asked you to come with me because I really wanted to see you again before you left. I- I couldn't really stand the thought of at least not telling you."

"Tell- tell me what?"

"I asked you out because I like you Cindy. I do. I really do. I know we've only known each other a few days and we don't know all that much about each other but I just feel really... connected to you. I'm not really sure what it is but I just don't think I'll be able to handle never seeing you again after you leave. I'm sorry if that sounds bad or creepy or anything but," He raised his hand and brushed his knuckles against my cheek, "I just really wanted you to know."

Liam saying all that stole the breath out of me.

I felt myself blink and only then did I know that I was conscious and this was not a dream. And since it's not, I knew that I had to say something.

"I," I took another breath before continuing. "I like you too."

"Really?" His smile almost reached his eyes.

"Really. I guess from that first day we met, when you approached Libby and I, I felt a sort of attraction towards you. Which sounds so shallow since the only thing I knew about you was how you look like." I gave a nervous little laugh which he gave an understanding smile to. "And then I got to know you more and I really liked what I was seeing. But I didn't really want to get too ahead to myself or anything since I knew I'd be going home and you'd be going back to school at the end of my time here. So to pursue anything would be silly almost. Plus I wasn't sure if you even liked me back."

"Well, now you know that I do."

"Yeah."

With the same hand that he touched my face with, he reached down to take my hand gently.

"So I know that it's going to be complicated with the distance and you seeing your options for college and me going back to my own but I would love, if you agree to of course, to test the waters with this. With us."

I never, in a million years, thought I'd hear those words coming from Liam. No matter how much I had wished for something like this to occur, I didn't think, especially given my brief time here, that it would actually happen.

Everything about this trip has been different and new. This is the farthest I've ever been away from home, My first time going on a vacation without my parents. Even the feelings I have for Liam are something completely new and unexpected. I've never felt this way about anyone. Not really. He's older and more mature, which is probably part of the reason why. The days we spent together will always be remembered, regardless of all the embarrassing moments I'd rather forget. I dread the thought of never being able to see him again once this vacation is over. And it's at a level that I would be unable to forgive myself if I allow the opportunity to continue to see him to escape.

It's not going to be easy, with all the complexities he mentioned and more which are bound to get in our way. But if there's one thing I've learned in this world is that if you want something badly enough, you'll endure hell and high water for it.

"It's going to be tough." I both voiced it out loud for myself and gave him a reminder.

"You don't sound like you're up for the challenge." He cocked his head to the side and gave a hint of a smile.

With a small smirk, I replied. "If you think that's the case, then you really don't know me that well."

"But I've already told you that I want to."

"And that works perfectly for me." There was barely any time for either one of us to say another word before our lips touched.

* * *

It was a little past two AM and as exhausted as I was, I didn't want to leave. My eyelids were heavy and Liam's arm around my waist wasn't helping to relieve the weight, no matter how much I wanted to ignore it so that I could enjoy the warmth of his embrace if only for a little while longer.

The party had cleared out for the most part and some of the janitorial staff were already working on cleaning the place up. Some people had gone back up to their rooms while some had gone on in search of more late night partying. Liam and I, on the other hand, were content with snuggling on the couch by the fireplace. Despite him declaring how he feels about me only a few short hours ago, it is incredible how comfortable I feel around him already. Perhaps I always was, but now that I know how he feels too, I have no reservations about letting it show.

Wanting to enjoy this moment for as long as possible, I nestled closer to him and he gently tightened his grip on me, allowing me in. As much as I didn't want to think about it, I was fully aware that these are the last few hours we're going to have together with us returning to our prospective homes later today. While neither one of us wanted to bring it up, we both knew that was the rain cloud looming over our heads.

I was very close to dozing off when Liam's voice prevented it.

"So I was thinking of something."

"Hmm?" I questioned, trying to stop a yawn from escaping.

"Are you tired?" He said with a chuckle, probably at how unalert I must have looked.

"A little." Even though we both knew fully well that I looked more than 'a little' tired. "You were saying?" His expression then changed from his wide smile to one of slight apprehension.

"I was thinking, if it's okay with you, that, well- err. After this, I'm going back home, but I don't actually even have to go back to school until towards the end of the month. I am going to go and see my family and all for a while. But before I go back to campus, I thought it'd be a good idea, if, for a couple of days, I were to get to know where you're from. Your hometown and all that."

Is he actually saying...?

"You- you want to come to Retroville?" I replied incredulously.

"Only if it's okay with you. I don't want to be intrusive or anything like that. You'll be in school by the time I'm able to go so I don't want to distract you-."

"N-no. You won't, believe me." I spoke quickly and firmly, not wanting to give him a chance to think of another reason why he shouldn't come. "I would love for you to come. That would be amazing!" Just when I was beginning to think this was going to be one of the last moments we have together for a while, he surprises me by announcing this. I found that it was nearly impossible to control the width of my smile.

Luckily, he wasn't shy about showing how much he appreciated seeing it.

"Great. I'm glad you're excited." He said as he kissed my forehead. "Now, you need to get some sleep. You're falling apart over here."

"Only because I'm with you." I answered back, not even caring how lame that sounded.

"And I wouldn't have it any other way." He whispered softly into my ear. Then he stealthy moved so that he stood in front of me and pulled me up. "Come on. I'll walk you to your room."

It seemed that holding onto his hand energized me because the last thing I wanted to do was sleep and eliminate any remaining hours that we have to spend together. For the most part, we were quiet the whole walk out of the main lobby and up the three floors using the elevator. Even in my short heels, I was physically exhausted to the point where I placed my head on his shoulder even though we were only in the elevator for a few seconds. Once the bell dinged and the doors slid open he gently tugged my hand and led me out into the hallway. We walked again in silence towards my room and I realized that it was likely that neither one of us had very good parting words which is why we weren't saying anything. Even if tonight won't be the last time we see each other, as we're making sure of, now that I know how he feels about me, it's going to be hard letting him go.

We reached Libby and mine's room and we both stopped in front of it.

"I'm going to try to make it so I can see you before you leave." He spoke as he rubbed my hand with his thumb.

"Our flight leaves at three this afternoon. We have to take the shuttle to the airport and with waiting and all, we'll have to be out of here by ten. And you have final evaluations and all..."

"Don't worry about that. I'll sneak away for a bit. I want to see you." As cute as I thought that was, I didn't want him to risk anything.

"I don't want you to get in trouble."

"You won't." Then he gently kissed me like he wanted to further assure me.

"That would be nice." I admitted as we broke apart. "And a bit romantic, if I'm being completely honest."

"That's exactly what I was going for." We kissed once again and I felt myself grin when he cupped my face in his hand. It only lasted for a few more breathless seconds before we pulled away again.

"Get some rest. I'll see you in the morning." He murmured, his face mere inches from mine. With a quick nod and light squeeze of his hand, I disconnected myself and swiped my key card, granting me access.

"Good night." I said, trying to express how much I would be unable to wait until morning.

"Good night." He repeated with a small smile, becoming the last image I saw of him before closing the door.

**And breathe.**

**I didn't want to warn you about how long the chapter was going to be. As a thank you for your patience and overall support and to make up for taking so long, I thought it'd be a nice little treat. And so at a over six thousand words, here we are.**

**I also chose Chace Crawford because he played Dianna Agron's boyfriend in the 100th episode of Glee, so at the very least, I know they look good together. How many of you noticed that this chapter was entirely in Cindy's POV? You can probably understand why though, right? Thank you for reading and PLEASE behave yourselves in the reviews. **


	12. Chapter 12

**I'm actually really surprised at the reactions I got from you guys in regards to Liam and his relationship with Cindy. So much so that I've decided to come out of hiding (at least for now). Thank you for the feedback and I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**Jimmy's POV**

Not much has changed since Cindy and Libby's departure to Aspen. The world rang in a new year, millions of children around the world received a dozen or so new distractions for Christmas, and perhaps most importantly, I am still in love with Cindy.

Immediately after she left my room the last time we were together, I questioned myself if that was really that right word to express how I feel about her. And all I've done since then is further confirm that it indeed the correct term.

Perhaps I'll never know exactly how it happened. I'm sure it's not a scientific answer. If it were, I certainly would have been able to figure it out by now. Assuming it occurred in those short months before she left, I won't be able to pinpoint exactly when. Was it during one of our earlier days, when we would touch somewhat hesitantly but kiss like we wanted to do it with no one else but each other? Was it when we realized we had become friends, and the possibility of us having a non-toxic, peaceful relationship actually seemed accessible? Or was it, as seems most probable, when we had sex for the first time, and I got a feeling I had never felt before and knew that I likely never would again?

I guess it doesn't really matter how it came to be. What's important is that it's prevalent. To me at least.

I've never been one to keep secrets of my own. Then again, I've never really been one to have secrets. But me being in love with Cindy qualifies as a big one that I am in no way ready of sharing with anyone. It's not because I'm embarrassed of it. Absolutely not. But I've always felt that anything between Cindy and I seems to have a high level of privacy inaccessible to most and I would prefer to keep it that way.

Which is why I've decided to tell her.

Cindy and I haven't spoken at all since she left my bedroom and, in a way, I'm grateful for that. If I were to speak to her, I doubt I'd get nervous and stumble over my words like I haven't got a clue what to say. But that doesn't mean I'm prepared to tell her. At all. In fact, with every passing day since my realization of my feelings for her, I'm aware that it's going to get more and more difficult. But it has to be done, because as with many parts of our friends with benefits relationship, it will be impossible to proceed peacefully with proper communication.

And even then, when I do tell her and she knows how I feel about her, I have no idea what to expect afterwards.

Will she get mad? Yell? Hit me? Surely not, that doesn't even seem rational. I suppose, out of all viable outcomes, she'll be speechless. Shocked even. She wouldn't really know what to do or say since I doubt that's what she's expecting to hear. Her reaction primarily depends on how I tell her.

If I were to just blurt it out, whether it be in the middle of a conversation or just to interrupt an uncomfortable silence, she wouldn't say anything for a few seconds, trying to process it. In that time, I could think of something to excuse the blunder I had produced and hopefully it would be smart enough that she thinks she misunderstood me and leaves us both with nothing to worry about. If I say it as the conclusion to a long, serious oration about my feelings for her, there is the possibility, and because it's Cindy, the likely one, that she'll scoff, laugh, and completely disregard it. Either way, no one ends up happy.

Of course, there's always the chance, admittingly the very slim one, that she'll say it back.

That's a thought that I should keep in the back of my head though. There's no proof, at least not anything obvious, that she could have feelings for me that are remotely similar of mine towards her. Sure, there's really only one way of finding out, but to just come on out and ask her will very likely give her even more of a reason to get dumbstruck.

One thing's for sure though. Regardless of how she reacts when I tell her, our relationship, our friends with benefits one, will undoubtedly be over. There's no way in hell this will be able to continue once she knows how I feel about her. To keep it going would only be uncomfortable and disastrous to say the very least. And even without the emotional part of it, there is still the reason of us having broken all three of our rules.

In retrospect, making up those rules was both a great and a stupid idea. In one sense, it kept us in line. It set limits, in a way, although we ended up ignoring those at the end. For that same reason, they were bad. Who knows in what direction our relationship could have gone had we not had any rules to abide by? Very likely, I wouldn't be here wondering about what could have been.

Still, she has to know. She has a right to and I am certain that I won't be able to go much longer keeping this information only to myself.

But how ever I tell her, if I still do choose to go along with it, I better decide quickly, because she's coming back today.

We haven't made plans to meet up, as I'm sure seeing her parents would come first. So while I don't know when I'll be seeing her again, I have to be prepared, just in case.

Composing myself turned out to be a good thing since she texted me asking if I would be home within the next hour because she wanted to see me. I quickly replied back with a yes and now found myself waiting for her down in the lab, trying my hardest not to let my impatience get the best of me.

To kill time prior to her arrival, I set myself to working on some enhancements to the rocket. This would also prevent me from looking like I was doing nothing but sitting there waiting for her when she arrived which even I can admit seems extremely pathetic.

It wasn't until I heard the door sliding open that I realized that I don't necessarily have to tell her right away. I have plenty of time and since nobody else knows, there's no pressure to do so. She just got back so surely she'll want to tell me all about her trip and I would be more than willing to listen. With that, I also wouldn't want to go and ruin everything by telling her that I love her. I'm sure that's not the way she imagined the end of her visit playing out.

As she approached the part of the lab where I was working, I rolled myself away from under the rocket, got up, and grabbed the nearest rag to wipe my hands. As soon as I faced her, I knew that seeing that she had returned safe and sound was the best part of my day and so far, my year.

I can't believe that I actually survived ten days without seeing her because looking at her now, I can't imagine ever losing her again.

She looks the same, because how much can your physical appearance change in ten days? Yet somehow, she looks completely different. There's something fresh about her, rejuvenated almost. It's likely that all that time on snowy mountains with a high altitude and touristic vibe caused it. However, I suspect that this being the first time I see her since realizing I am in love with her plays a big part in it.

Whatever the reason, she looks stunning and I could not be any happier that she's back.

"Hey." I approached her but wasn't exactly sure how to go about doing a physical greeting, if one at all. She didn't do anything other than walk closer and give a friendly smile, so I just stayed put. "It's good to see you. How was your trip?" I asked instead.

"Great! It was amazing!" The accompanying grin came quickly after. "I'm glad I got to go. It was...really really good."

"Glad to hear it." And I really was genuinely happy to hear that.. "Things were pretty boring around here. Except for this one day, but I'll tell you about that later." Seeing as I hadn't gotten a chance to tell Cindy about the awards banquet at all, it was definitely one of the things I wanted to bring up now that she was back. But for now, I really wanted to give her return and the inevitable recount of her vacation priority. "I stayed out of trouble, like you asked."

"Oh, cool." She said somewhat absentmindedly, almost if she was focusing on something else.

"Everything okay?" I asked, wondering what was wrong.

"I have to talk to you about something." She said with no hesitation.

"Okay. Shoot." I turned my back to continue working while still having every intention to listen to her.

"Could you not? This is actually really important."

"Cindy, seriously is everything okay?" I worried more now that Cindy didn't want me to be distracted and turned back to face her.

She gave a little light, non-mocking laugh, like she was relieving pressure, when I turned to her. "Yeah, yeah it is. Sorry, I'm making a much bigger deal out of it than it needs to be. Everything's fine."

"Alright so what is it?" I wiped my hand on the rag I had been using before and moved to sit down. "I'm listening."

With a small smile that only seemed to be getting bigger, she spoke. "Do you remember rule number two?"

"Of...?" I was confused as to what she meant by that.

"Of this- us-" She gestured between the two of us. "Our friends with benefits thing."

"Oh, that. Yeah, what about it?"

"Well," She cleared her throat. "it's happened."

A silence loomed over us. And I had no idea what to do or say to break it. The only thing going through my head at that moment was: what does that even mean?

I can recall from memory, though I will be asking Goddard for confirmation later, that the second rule in our agreement is the no strings attached one. This means that our arrangement is non-binding and we are free to go be with someone else if and when the opportunity rises. What's even worse is that I'm pretty sure that's the rule I made up. But that can't be what Cindy is referring to.

Is it?

The thought process only took a few seconds but because of the circumstances under which I was thinking about this, it felt like a few hours. Cindy was waiting for a response, but I honestly didn't know what to say.

"Wha- what do you mean?" I asked like I really had no clue.

"I met someone, Jimmy. In Aspen. I know I haven't actually been there very long, but I like him. A lot. And he likes me. And now we're sort of...seeing each other." She turned her face away probably so that I wouldn't see how red she was getting. But it wasn't enough.

"Oh." Because how the hell else am I supposed to answer that? "That's great, Cindy. Cool."

"Yeah." She smiled once more. "So I just wanted to tell you since you know, we agreed to stop if..."

"Yeah, I understand." I nodded. "So how did you meet him?" I asked, trying to be the curious and supportive friend while also realizing that I could potentially learn something about him based on this information.

"He was our ski instructor, actually. Libby and I met him the day after we arrived."

"Fun." I said dryly, not really caring if she heard my tone of voice or not.

"Yeah. We got to see him every day. And then on New Year's Eve, he invited me to the party at the lodge but Libby and I had already planned to go any way. And that's when he told me he liked me and- well, I'm not going to give you all the details."

"I would hope as much." I spoke while getting up and walking towards the rocket.

"Is there a problem?" She asked, probably beginning to suspect that there was.

"No, not at all." I shrugged nonchalantly. She gave me a look that I'd seen many times. One that said she had me all figured out. Or least she thought she did, some of the time.

"I knew you'd be upset."

"I'm not upset." I replied even though I knew she could not have any idea how I felt.

"You are."

"No, I'm not!" I insisted.

"Look," She began calmly and likely trying to avoid an argument. "I figured this would be difficult for you. Believe it or not, it is for me too. It was very abrupt. And the more I think about it, all this did happen very very quickly. But what do you want me to say Jimmy? It just happened and we both knew it would to one of us eventually." In the time it took her to say all that, I had tried to calm down and hopefully my face showed that I had.

Once it was quiet and the tension in the room was lessened, Cindy continued.

"I hope you don't think I'm just going to forget about everything that occured with us, because I won't. All of _that_...it was good, you know? It was..." she paused to think of the right word to say. "special. I'm glad that it was with you, honestly. We were each other's first and that's a big deal-."

"Not for me."

I must have surprised her because she didn't say anything after that.

I didn't mean to say it. I really didn't. There were a very limited amount of things I could say to both stop her and reply to what she was saying, and 'I love you' certainly wasn't going to be one of them. What I said instead did come spewing out of my mouth without a thought and although I didn't mean it, it worked for what I both wanted and needed at the moment.

It took her a moment for her to continue.

"I'll just leave then." And that's exactly what I hoped she would do.

To confirm that she was more than welcome to leave and more importantly, to ensure her that I didn't care if she did, I spoke.

"Fine."

"I'll see you in school." She said, as if she were expecting me to answer.

"Okay." And that was all she would get out of me.

Finally realizing that that was the end of our conversation, she turned in the direction which she came from and exited the lab.

It wasn't until the I heard the second door slide close that I angrily threw the wrench I had in my hand halfway across the room. The sound woke Goddard up, which I was happy about since I was going to wake him up anyway.

"Goddard," I spoke as I walked over to where he was laying down. He lifted his head to show that he had heard me. "Show me the Neutron-Vortex Rules for a Mutually Beneficial Friendship." His chest immediately opened up to reveal a screen and the words referring to my command appeared on it.

I took to reading them aloud as they were displayed.

"'Number one: keep it a secret.' Well, that's one strike." As I mumbled the last part to myself, new words came onto the screen. "'Number two: if either one becomes romantically involved with someone else, then the arrangement is discontinued.' That's obviously strike two." I said, finally having a confirmation about it.

I waited for the third rule to pop up and I knew that Goddard was purposely taking longer to post it.

"'Number three.'" I spoke as it began appearing. "'Do NOT fall in love.'" I didn't fail to notice the capitalized word.

Goddard kept up his screen and I kept staring at the words as if doing so would make me fall out of love with Cindy.

I don't know how much time passed before I said anything else.

"Strike three and I'm out."

* * *

To think that having any sort of relationship with Cindy can be easily avoided is silly. I'm a genius, I should know better. Even if either one of us weren't close to Retroville High's favorite couple, all the times we are forced to be in the same room because of classes results in us having to communicate in some way. I'm not thrilled about it, but I can't say I dislike it either.

I'm not just going to simply fall out of love with her just because she's in a relationship. It doesn't work that way. So while I can't do anything about either circumstances, seeing her, and even speaking to her whenever I get a chance to is both a blessing and a curse.

It's been nearly three weeks since Cindy delivered the news and, unsurprisingly, we haven't seen each other outside of class once. Even as a group, with Libby, Sheen, and Carl, we haven't hung out. As we do, we eventually got back to civil speaking terms and it was as if that whole scene down in the lab after she got back hadn't occurred. Everything was, for lack of a better word, sane. But we weren't exactly friends, even without the benefits. Not really.

At least not enough for me to tell her I got into Caltech.

It is a big deal. I know it is. And while a small (practically microscopic) part of me thought I wasn't going to get in, I wasn't jumping at the chance to tell her. A few people know. My parents obviously, along with Carl and Sheen. While I haven't told them to keep it a secret, they must know that I don't want it going around since I haven't heard anything about it from others. But I suspect that's how Cindy will eventually find out though. Through the grapevine.

It's the weekend, which always appears to be a relief regardless of what your week consisted of. Today we all, by which I mean, Libby and Sheen, thought it would be a good idea for us to meet at the Candy Bar. I wasn't opposed to it and still wouldn't be even if I knew if Cindy would be present or not.

We were supposed to meet right after school and I, as always, was the only one to arrive on time. After checking my phone and seeing that I had messages from all of them saying they were running a late, I decided to go inside and grab us a table.

Just as I was looking around to see if I could spot a four -or maybe five- seater, I heard my name being called from the counter by a familiar voice.

"Jimmy!" I turned and saw Cindy who also had half her hand raised and waving, trying to get my attention as if she didn't already have it. She was standing very close to a guy I had never seen before. He was slightly taller than Cindy and looked like he could be around our age.

It wasn't until my eyes trailed down to where I saw their interwoven hands that I realized who he was.

The only reason I didn't turn away and leave at that moment was because they were both already walking in my direction.

You have _got _to be kidding me.

**Prepare yourselves for the next chapter. That's all I'm going to say about that. **

**Reviews?**


	13. Chapter 13

**We could trend #PoorJimmy on Twitter with the amount of you saying it. I am, however, a bit surprised that NOBODY has mentioned anything about Jimmy and Cindy getting into the colleges they most wanted to go to. But I suppose there are more interesting things that happened worth reviewing about.**

**So here****it is! I'm sure many, if not, all, of you have been waiting to read this one and I am so excited to present it to you. Hope it was worth the wait.**

**Jimmy's POV**

After a few agonizing seconds, Cindy and her... guest had made their way over to me. The Candy Bar may be a very spacious area, but the moment they approached me, it felt like the smallest place in the world.

"Jimmy, I'm glad you came." What? "So umm, this is Liam, my boyfriend." I couldn't help but notice the slightest trace of hesitation in her voice. "Liam," Cindy spoke to him but looked at me. "This is my dear and very good friend, Jimmy Neutron." I don't even know how she managed to say that with a straight face.

"It's great to meet you. Cindy's told me so much about you." He spoke with an outstretched hand. I realized I would probably give up my hovercar for the chance to find out what Cindy told him about me.

"Same." I replied as I took his hand and shook it. Whether I meant that it was nice to meet him too or that Cindy told me a lot about him as well, I wasn't planning on telling him. "So, were you supposed to meet the guys here too?" I spoke to Cindy, internally hoping that this wasn't the setup it appeared to be.

Just as she opened her mouth to speak, the bell above the door rang signaling that someone had entered the building. I was quickly able to make out Libby and Sheen in the front, holding hands, and Carl close behind. It shouldn't have surprised me at all that they all came in together.

"Hey!" said Libby as she approached the three of us with a smile.

"Glad to see you're all here. Coming in together. At the exact same time." I replied, not caring the manner in how I spoke.

"Well, yeah. We were all in the car, waiting for you to come in, Jimmy-." Sheen was instantly cut off by Libby who nudged him hard on the ribs. "Ouch. Sorry, I meant, we all just happened to meet outside."

"Uh huh." I said as I turned away, already annoyed.

What would have followed would be a few seconds of uncomfortable silence. But Cindy wouldn't allow that to happen.

"So Sheen, Carl, I'd like you to meet Liam, my boyfriend." As he did with me, he went to shake both their hands and being the polite young men they are, Carl and Sheen returned it and already seemed to be more excited about meeting him than I was.

Since there was a large number of us that I wasn't used to having, we moved and sat in the biggest booth available. Noticing I was probably a big part of the reason we were all gathered here, I decided to say something.

"So Liam," Only if you were listening very carefully would be able to hear the distaste I said in his name. "How did you two meet again?" It's one thing to hear it from Cindy, who's known me for a long time and could plan out how she was going to tell me she met her boyfriend, omitting details if she wanted to. It's another thing to hear it from the other possible source, who couldn't be forewarned about telling me all the whole truth without at the very least wondering why.

"I was one of two people who taught Cindy and Libby- well, mostly Cindy- to ski. She was... very much a beginner, to say the least." I could tell he was teasing her, and she responded by giving an embarrassed little shake of hre head.

"Was she?" I continued. "I'm aware she's not exactly the most careful of people when it comes to unfamiliar equipment. Like that time her airlock maneuver almost caused us to crash land on Mars." A chuckle went through the table, including one from Cindy, like we were all remembering that moment. Liam, not having been there, looked around curiously at us.

"Mars? Like, the planet?" We've been here less than ten minutes and I'm already amazed at this guy's brilliance. "But isn't it like, uninhabitable?"

Wow.

"We... managed." Cindy started to explain. "We also once participated in an intergalactic game show once so going to Mars isn't even that big of a deal." She shrugged and I was suddenly really glad that she remembered that as well. "And I'll have you know Jimmy, I was pretty decent for only having had a few classes. Liam thinks I did great." _Well, of course he does._ Then as if confirming it to everyone at the table, he placed his arm around her and brought her close enough to kiss her forehead.

"How long are you here for, Liam?" Sheen asked, and thank Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto that he did.

"Only for a couple of days." He said, but in a way that sounded like there was more to a story behind it. "Before we left Aspen, I promised Cindy I would come and visit. Well, it was really my idea to come. I live in San Antonio so since it's pretty far and all, I thought a couple of days should be okay. After this, I'm going straight to school so it's not an inconvenience or anything."

"Liam was at Aspen because he got a job there through a program at UT. That's where he goes to school." Cindy replied.

"Oh, a state school, isn't that great?" The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them. Unlike all the other comments I had about Liam so far, this one somehow managed to find a way to escape my thoughts and be blurted out loud. The fact that I said it in the most sarcastic of tones didn't exactly make me feel any better about my slip up.

It's not that state schools are bad. It's just that they're not nearly at the level of the private and the Ivys and everyone knows it, Cindy included. Knowing the type of person she is, you'd think she go for someone that's more up to her standards. But I had no time to worry about that right now, since I had to see how I was going to get out of this blunder.

"I just meant it in that...it's a good school. One of the best around here, I believe." Based on the looks on everyone's faces, I could tell it was a good cover up.

"Well, it is good. I love it there and all, it's a great school. But it's not nearly as good as where Cindy will be going to." And that was enough for to duck her head in embarrassment and for me to notice it.

"Liam, don't."

"What, they don't know? Why? This is big news. You should be proud of yourself."

"Proud about what?" I spoke, hoping someone would tell me what was going on.

Like she had gained confidence at my speaking up, she lifted her head up and addressed the table.

"While I was away, I got word that I got into Columbia."

The slight din caused by Carl and Sheen, who were the two other people that hadn't known, was not able to overpower the thoughts in my head.

She really does have every reason to be proud of herself. I knew that Columbia was her top choice and with her applying for early admission, there was no doubt that she would go if accepted. I can't think of anybody that deserves it more. The chance to leave this town, make something of herself, move to Manhattan, all of it.

And so it's not that I'm not happy for her, because I am. One hundred percent. I'm not even majorly upset that she didn't tell me earlier and this is how I had to find out about it.

It's just that it's happening. It's actually really happening.

Seeing as I was not reacting like the others, I hastily had to find a way to change that to avoid suspicion, especially from Cindy, who knew me better than anyone here.

"That's amazing Cindy. Congratulations. I know how much you really wanted to go there." As I spoke the words, even I could sense how unexcited I sounded.

"Thank you." Something in her eyes as she said that made me wish we didn't have any other company.

Before I had a moment to say or think anything else, Sheen spoke up.

"Jimmy, dude, why don't you tell Cindy your good news?"

Sheen's always been a really helpful friend.

"Not right now, Sheen. That's...not what we're here for." I defended myself. Apart from the fact that I didn't want Cindy to find out that I too had gotten into my dream school under the current setting we're in, I really did want to get to know this guy more, largely because, so far, he didn't seem to share anything about himself voluntarily.

"What? What's the good news?" Cindy replied, most likely clueless to what it could be.

"Jimmy got into Caltech." Carl surprised the hell out of me, and probably everyone, by being the one to say it.

"You- you did?" She turned and faced me. As much as I like to think I know Cindy better than anyone else, even herself sometimes, I was truly unable to make out the tone in which she asked that. Reassurance, obviously, but what else?

"Yeah."

Then she smiled. A genuine one too, unless she was giving an Oscar worthy performance.

"That's amazing Jimmy. Good for you. You deserve it." And with that I couldn't help but think to the last time we had a conversation about Caltech. Besides the difference in setting, and the amount of clothes Cindy and I were each wearing, I recall her not being too enthusiastic about the whole ordeal.

Libby spoke up then and as I turned to face her, I noticed Cindy restlessly playing with the straw of her milkshake.

"That is so awesome Jimmy. Congratulations." I realized that she also didn't know prior to today.

"Thank you." I smiled, glad to have her support.

"Yeah, that's really cool. Are you going to go?" I knew there was no way I could just forget that Liam was there.

"I suppose so, yeah. There's no reason why I shouldn't. It's where I wanted to go the most and they accepted me and all. Nothing's holding me back so..." I trailed off, knowing I had more than explained myself. Liam gave an acknowledging nod, because he really had no idea about anything.

A couple of moments passed and seeing as we had someone new with us, I knew my courteous friends didn't want to start a conversation that Liam would be left out of. So, unexpectedly, he brought up something.

"So what did you guys get up to while the girls were away? Did you also go on vacation or something?" It was an authentic, however prying question, but did give Cindy and Libby a chance to find out what we did during our winter break. At least now, I would finally tell Cindy about the _Discover _magazine banquet.

To be honest, the three of us didn't have much to say. With us just hanging out, grabbing lunch a couple of times, and enjoying that fact that we had some time off school, our break was nowhere near as eventful as theirs, Cindy's especially. But since they have no idea about the banquet, and I'm not sure if Libby knows about the magazine's list in the first place, it would be news for them.

"Do you remember that list I made on _Discover _magazine? The 20 under 20?" Both girls nodded, confirming that Libby did know. "A few days a Christmas, they had this awards ceremony banquet thing for us so that's something I did over the break."

"Oh, that's cool." Libby replied.

"So they gave you the award then?" Cindy questioned.

"Yeah." And by now I was addressing the entire table. "They had dinner and made speeches and all so it was pretty elaborate. They even said we could bring a date so I went with Annie."

Okay. So technically the invitation said we could bring one guest, not a date, using the actual definition of the word. This meant I could have brought anyone I wanted. Seeing as the person I wanted to and would have gone with was unavailable, I had asked Annie instead. I didn't want it to be anything serious, just two good friends going out for a night of free food and celebration. Plus, I knew that ultimately, Annie would appreciate it more.

But noticing the look on Cindy's face and how long she went without talking, I could tell she wasn't really concerned with the reasoning of it all.

"Annie. Like as in Annie Park?" She asked even though she already knew.

"I don't know another one." I might as well have shrugged when I said that.

"Oh. Did you guys have fun?"

"Yeah, it was pretty casual. I mean, we're friends and all so it wasn't awkward or anything like that."

"Right." Cindy replied as she gave a strained smile and looked away, thereby ending her part of the conversation.

"Who's Annie?" Asked Mr. Dreamboat himself.

* * *

**Cindy's POV**

I'll tell you who Annie is.

Annette "Annie" Park is, simply put, the embodiment of the term "hot nerd". Head of her class since pre-K and with the figure of a centerfold, not that Little Miss Perfect would ever do anything like that. Thankfully, she doesn't go to Retroville High or even live in this town. The entire reason I even know her is, as always, Jimmy's fault.

When we were thirteen, we entered the county wide science fair since we could officially qualify because of our ages. Jimmy and I were of course fighting about something or other. At one point, Annie, clearly not seeing that Jimmy and I were having a discussion, came up and complimented him on his project. They started talking and then he gave her some pointers on how to enhance her project. That day they became friends and even to this day, they are, apparently so, in constant communication.

She has family here in Retroville though, so whenever she has the chance during one of her visits, Jimmy invites her to come and hang out with us. So at this point, all five of us know her. Unfortunately, I do as well.

And it doesn't help that she's so _damn_ nice all the time.

Not a single bad word is ever spoken about her, nor has one ever escaped her lips about anyone else. I haven't really been keeping up with what she's been doing, about from Neutron's truth bomb a few moments ago. As far as I know, her post high school plans include spending some time in the summer volunteering in South Africa and then attending Harvard in the fall, because of course she will.

But, obviously, I can't say all that to Liam, especially in the mood I'm in from thinking about her. So instead, I just kept it brief.

"She's a friend of ours. She doesn't live in Retroville though, so you won't be able to meet her." Not that I'd ever want to two of them to be introduced. With a short nod, he dismissed it. And with that, I remembered that Liam and I had some other plans to attend to. "Well, guys this has been fun, but Liam and I have to go, We have dinner with my parents later." I'll admit that I was a little nervous for him and Jimmy to meet considering, well everything. But meeting my parents is an infinitely bigger deal, not to mention a huge step in our relationship. Everything has to go just right, starting with our prompt arrival.

We said our goodbyes as we started standing up.

"It was really nice to meet you all. I hope we see each other soon." Liam addressed the table.

"It's been a pleasure. Really." Jimmy replied with a stiff nod, and a tone that only I could see through.

As we held hands and turned to walk out, Liam looked back at them all and waved. It wasn't until we were walking away from the building that he put his arm around me and I easily molded into his embrace.

**So for those of you that were dying something on Annie, you're welcome. For her, I have fancast the gorgeous Jamie Chung. You probably know her from the last two Hangover movies or if you really want to take it back, she was a cast member in Real World: San Diego in 2004. And of course, there's my favorite role of hers as Mulan on Once Upon a Time.**

**Anyone else excited about Nickelodoen's announcement that they're bringing back a couple of Nicktoons? My money's on Hey Arnold personally. You think there's a slightly bit of chance they'll pick up our favorite boy genius for this?**

**As always, thank you so much for reading and I really hope you enjoyed it. Let me know what you think!**


	14. Chapter 14

**HI! So happy to be back! Not much to say about my absence since I've said it all already. Thank you thank you thank you for all the kind words and for being so understanding. Now let's get this party re-started.**

**So Cindy's dad is going to be played, or at least in my head, by Jon Hamm. It took me about a second to think of him and then a few more seconds to realize that he's perfect. Since I can't recall ever seeing him on the show, I've decided to name him Richard. It's sort of an inside joke, although if you're familiar with his recent work outside of Mad Men, you'll probably get it. **

**Alright, enough of me. Enjoy!**

**Cindy's POV**

"This looks delicious, Mrs. Vortex." Liam commented about my mother's vegetarian meat loaf.

"Thank you Liam." My mother replied passively, as if she's told that every day.

We had finally made it to dinnertime and my nerves were at an all time high. It wasn't so much for my parents meeting Liam. I had no worries that they wouldn't find him as amazing as I do. I was more concerned for Liam meeting my parents, who, and I am completely aware of this, aren't exactly the most easy-going, and some would even say, nicest people around.

But as nervous as I was about it, everything seemed to be going completely okay. Liam was successfully charming the pants off both of them and probably not even noticing it. And I had yet to feel a trace of embarrassment at anything either mom or dad said.

I didn't really end up speaking much, and was content with just letting the three of them get acquainted. It wasn't until Liam mentioned meeting my friends earlier today that I was brought back into the conversation by my dad.

"I've been meaning to ask you, Cindy: whatever happened to you and the Neutron boy? You don't see each other as often as you used to."

Oh my God.

"Nothing happened, dad." At least nothing that I'm crazy enough to share. "We're still friends and all."

"Still? I wasn't aware you ever were." At that statement I realized that a few months ago, I would have said the exact same thing.

"We...are." I answered lamely while picking up a string bean with my fork. It was only then that I noticed how deviating this must have felt for Liam."We would just study and help each other out with homework." I started, feeling like I was now explaining it to three people. "But we just haven't gotten a chance to catch up since school started up again. It's not a big deal though. We're fine." I hope I ended with a sense of finality.

"Are you sure that was a good idea?" Mom began. "You know, seeing how close each of you are to being valedictorian."

"It's not like we were giving each other tips." At least not about anything school related. "We were just making sure we understand the material so that we don't fall behind or anything." Which wasn't a lie at all really. "Besides, I wouldn't want to beat him simply because he didn't know what he was doing. If he wasn't my equal, then where's the competition in that?" I added that mainly because I knew my mom would like it. The look that she exchanged with my dad right after only confirmed that she did.

As if sensing the awkwardness, since there was no way he could really avoid it, Liam broke the silence.

"I'm sure Cindy will get it." I don't know if it's because what he said was unexpected or we were all surprised to hear him talk about this topic but all three of us turned to look at him "She's crazy smart. Even if Jimmy wasn't helping her, I wouldn't worry about her being top of the class. I mean, she was smart enough to help Jimmy get into Caltech so-."

"Oh, so he did get accepted to Caltech." My mom surprised me by saying. At that, a million thoughts rushed into my head.

Jimmy's become a lot more humble than when he was a kid, which we can all appreciate. So it makes sense that I didn't hear about his acceptance through a far less reliable source than Carl. I assumed he simply wasn't showing off, resulting in a few people knowing as opposed to the whole town. While I still am a little upset that he didn't tell me himself earlier, I don't know how to feel about the fact that my mother knew before me.

"Richard, then he probably got into into MIT as well." And when she made that comment to my dad, that's what really got my attention.

My head snapped to face their direction.

"How do you know that?" I didn't mean for it to sound so angry. Luckily, nobody seemed to hear that in my tone.

"Know what?" Mom replied, as if there was a possibility I was talking about something else.

"About Jimmy getting into Caltech and...MIT." I said that last part like it was a word that I thought I was mispronouncing.

"I ran into his mother at the bank earlier today." She said it like it wasn't even important. "She told me about James's acceptances to those schools, but I suspected she was just stretching the truth. But since it seems to be going around, I suppose she wasn't. Naturally, I told her about Columbia and Brown and let her know we were waiting to hear back from Princeton. You haven't received anything from them have you, Cindy?"

"No mom." Unlike the past twenty times I've said it, there was a twinge of impatience in my response. She didn't seem to notice though, which made what I said easier. "Do- do you know if he's made up his mind about where he's going?"

"I haven't a clue Cynthia." She started calmly although I knew she wanted to know why I was so curious. "If you two are so friendly, why don't you ask him?"

I'll be sure to do just that.

"So he really is a genius then?" Liam put in. I felt so guilty that I completely forgot he was there. "I mean, those are pretty good schools. Cindy was telling me all about him, and I kept wondering, 'how smart could he actually be?'. But now, well, wow, that's pretty impressive." And he sounded like he sincerely thought it.

"He is, I'll admit." My mom answered. "I can fully understand why his mother is proud. But Liam, just be happy you didn't know him when he was a child or let alone, live in Retroville. You probably wouldn't like him as much as you seem too."

"Why? What happened?" He asked and unknowingly continued the Jimmy conversation.

"He was always causing trouble." My dad spoke again. "It would have been fine if he kept it to himself, but he would constantly put the whole town in danger. It's a miracle we're not all dead. Getting us abducted by aliens, giant robots running through town, one day he even made killer pants and set them loose."

"Those were all accidents." I found myself saying before dad could say another word. "He-he didn't mean for any of that to happen. They were all just...unfortunate consequences."

The silence that followed and the looks I go from the three of them were almost comical.

"Anyway," Dad continued after a moment, "let's hope that wherever he chooses to go to college is far away from here. I don't even want to imagine what would happen if his chaotic knowledge were to be released to its fullest potential."

Thankfully, after that comment from my dad, the unexpected Jimmy portion of our conversation came to an end. He managed to escape the dinner table, but unfortunately, he was unable to escape my thoughts.

It's difficult to say if Jimmy and I would have maintained our friends with benefits arrangement had I not met Liam. Before I left, there was no sign that it wouldn't and even if we didn't stay in touch at all while I was away, I don't think it affected the chances of anything stopping between us. It's certainly not the type of thing you just abruptly ask. Although I know it doesn't really matter, since I'm with Liam now, I can't help but be curious about it.

And even if we had stopped, Liam or no Liam, I like to think that Jimmy and I are mature enough to have been able to have a stable friendship after all. One that I expect would consist of us telling each other things like what colleges we got accepted to. I can understand, not very much, but I can understand why he didn't say anything about MIT. Even today at the Candy Bar, neither Sheen nor Carl let on that they knew anything about that school's acceptance so I can only assume he didn't tell them. But Caltech is very different. It's his top choice, where he wants to go most. He knows I know that, and he's known for a while that he got in. If he wanted to tell me when I got back, he's had plenty of time from then until earlier today. There's no excuse for him going three weeks without saying anything to me about it. Was he purposely planning that I find out through a third party source?

I wish I could say that's the extent of Jimmy's odd behavior but it really just seems to be part of a bigger issue.

Anyone could have foreseen that Jimmy and Liam meeting was going to be awkward. To prevent it from being a total angry blowout, I had it planned so that Jimmy would arrive at the Candy Bar with no knowledge of what he was really there for. I know it's not in Jimmy's nature to walk away from a confrontation, especially when it's already right in front of him. Luckily, I was right and the two of them were able to meet without any trouble. Well, except for Jimmy's ongoing snark that is. Liam didn't mention it at all after we left, and I don't know if that's because he didn't notice it or he was nice enough not to bring it up, but Jimmy's attitude didn't sit right with me and it was definitely something I wanted to talk to him about.

In fact, there's a few things I need to talk to him about.

Looking back on it, this pretty much started_ because _I told him about Liam. The day I went down to the lab to tell Jimmy about him, it started off totally normal and, if I wasn't with Liam, we likely would have kissed in greeting. While I knew it would be somewhat upsetting for Jimmy to learn about Liam and our relationship, I could not have been prepared for how angry he seemed to be about it. His dry and rude tone made it more than obvious this is not the kind of conversation he thought we would be having. I suppose I was hoping that three weeks would be enough for him to cool down enough and be able to meet Liam without any problem. To further ensure that, I didn't mention Liam at all to him during that time.

While I can tell that the Liam factor is what caused the shift in our relationship, he doesn't, at all, have anything to do with what Jimmy and I were doing before I met him.

I had sex with Jimmy and continued to do so completely of my own free will. And I know he did as well. Seeing as we're both logically thinking, consenting human beings, there was undoubtedly going to be some sort of emotion going into our sexual relationship. It was impossible to just feel nothing about it. For him to say that what we did wasn't important or in any way impactful to him isn't only unnatural, it's a lie. How dare he say he didn't feel anything from our time together? There's no way that's true.

As deep in thought as I was, I was able to snap out of it before anyone else noticed and tried to get my attention.

By now I noticed that conversation was dying down and all our plates were nearly clear of food.

"Dinner was great, Mr. and Mrs. Vortex. Thanks for everything."

"It was a pleasure, Liam. Thank you for joining us." My mom replied with a surprisingly warm smile.

"We're just glad Cindy's met such a wonderful young man. I know the distance thing will be an issue but I look forward to seeing more of you." Dad said in our general direction with a grin of his own.

"Thank you. Let me help you clean up." He spoke as he reached for his plate. My parents didn't object and soon we were all cleaning up after ourselves and putting the dishes in the dishwasher. This only gave more time for them to get to know each other and for me to absorb the happiness and relief I felt that they were getting along.

I had worried that because of how Liam and I had met and given how much time we actually had to spend together, that my parents would be less than accepting. After all, from the day I saw him in Libby and mine's hotel lobby to today, meeting my parents, it's only been approximately one month. I also couldn't very well lie about how and when I met him. Seeing as I have probably exhausted my lying passes with them when it came to all the times I was with Jimmy, including a couple from before we even started having sex, where I would just tell them I was at Libby's or at the library, I didn't think it was wise.

Telling them about Liam went over so well that it was actually their idea to have him over for dinner, a request that he clearly couldn't turn down. From then on up until we entered my house earlier today, I was both anxious for it to be over yet couldn't wait for it to happen.

It was honestly too good to be true how smoothly everything went.

After we finished all the clearing up, I'm not entirely sure what was going on through my parents' heads since they quickly retired to their bedroom, leaving Liam and I all alone in my living room. Neither one of us said anything about him having to go back to his hotel soon and I was not going to be the one to bring it up. So within seconds we were kissing, indulging in each other like we had for a few short moments back in Aspen before I had to leave.

I'm not sure if me lying on the couch was a mutual decision but pretty soon that's how I ended up along with his hand placed gently on my waist.

I sighed, igniting a deeper kiss from him. His chest was right against mine, pinning me down. As I ran my fingers through his hair, he brought his up my side and ran his thumb along my breast. I turned my head to the side to release a breath and Liam immediately began softly biting my neck. It was definitely different than I was used to, and I wasn't entirely sure how I felt about it.

Removing his hand from my chest, he began kissing along my neckline, as his thumbs drew small circles on my upper arm.

"Oh...that feels nice." I let out.

"Yeah?"

"Mmm Hmm." I replied as I felt his other hand working its way up my thigh.

"Wait." I said as I gently pushed him off me. Thankfully, he retreated.

"What's wrong? I thought you were enjoying it."

"I-I am." I began feeling apologetic, even though I know I shouldn't. "It was just a little too fast, that's all."

He looked at me curiously for a second. Then a strike of realization hit him.

"Oh. Are you a-? You've never-?"

"No, I have. It's not that." I assured, knowing exactly what he meant. "It's just, you know, we're together. There's no need to rush anything. Let's just...take it slow, okay?"

"Yeah, that's fine." He answered as he adjusted himself. "Whatever you want, Cindy. I just want you to be comfortable." At those words, I had a quick and sudden flashback to the last person who said that to me.

"Okay, good." I smiled. And then, to make sure I completely pushed the previous thought out of my mind, I pulled Liam close and kissed him, one which he hastily accepted. I playfully pushed him into the couch and swung my leg around his lap, gripping onto his hair to keep him as close as possible. Despite him adjusting himself earlier, I could still feel him pretty prominently. It then occurred to me that I was being totally contradictory and was not in fact, going slow.

That's as far as it ended up going though.

It's not the right time. I'm very much aware of that. Whatever Liam was trying to do, he didn't give it a second attempt, which I was grateful for. We both nonverbally agreed that it was too soon and that here was definitely not the right place. My parents are right upstairs for Christ's sake!

When it would happen, I don't know. The first step, of course, is being able to see each other.

Before he left the next day, that's what we talked about. He would definitely make another visit during his spring break for a few days since he already had plans to spend the later part of it with his brother. Before that however, I would try to make it to be able to see him up in school for a weekend. We both knew it wasn't much, but the effort was what mattered most. Still, it didn't stop me from being absolutely devastated when I saw him in his car, full of his belongings, and drive off to school where I would go an even longer amount of time without seeing the boy that made me feel everything good all at once.

**Jimmy's POV**

I, for one, think that went pretty well.

Although realistically, it could have gone about a thousand times worse.

Seeing that the whole situation, meeting Cindy's...boyfriend took me by surprise, I should have been unprepared for it. But I like to think I handled myself exceptionally well, despite how excruciatingly difficult it was to do so. I suppose that was probably because, and I noticed this very early on in our encounter, Liam doesn't at all seem like a threat.

There's not much to him, at least from what I saw. Pretty boy more than anything else. I mean, he goes to a state school for crying out loud. And his hobbies include gliding on frozen water and picking up teenage female tourists at his workplace. That's borderline creepy if you ask me. And the way he didn't seem to mention anything about himself without being asked first seemed way too odd. Had it been anyone else, I would say they're just being shy or humble. But that hardly seems to be the case with Liam, with him waltzing down here unexpectedly and meeting Cindy's friends.

However, there is a reason Cindy likes him, and as much as I think I'll never understand girls and what goes on in their brains, the reason for her attraction to him is obvious. He's, for lack of a better word, new. He's not from around here. He's different, something she's never seen before, having been in this small town her whole life. As much as it kills me to say it, her falling for Liam is completely reasonable. Despite all the life threatening and dangerous places we have gone to when we were younger, meeting someone she would be romantically interested in was never really a possibility. Logically, it would happen when she's older and is living her life on her own terms, without being taken to unfamiliar and distant places.

So then what does that say about my role in her life and our relationship?

With those thoughts, anyone would think that it's because of me that Cindy hasn't met anyone. Even if you take away the Liam example, that still stands true. In the entire time I've known Cindy, I've never heard of her dating anyone or even having strong feelings for someone. There's been a few crushes here and there of course, but nothing serious enough to pursue.

Our jet-setting adventures dwindled down towards the end of middle school and completely stopped early in our freshmen year, but even then Cindy and I were still always around each other, playing a significant role in each other's lives. I suppose this would also explain why I've never seriously dated anyone, seeing as, without any friendly benefits or romantic feelings, Cindy is just important for me as I am for her. Of course, everyone thinking we like each other has something to do with it as well, but that's only really a consequence of Cindy and mine's relationship.

She met Liam while she was on vacation, away from not only Retroville but from me. If that realization alone, along with all the other ones I just had isn't enough proof, I don't know what is. She like him a lot, I can clearly tell. If it wasn't for the way she looks at him or the way she talks to Libby about him, conversations which I'm not proud to admit I've eavesdropped on, her telling him about Columbia before me should say everything.

I love her, and while that's a very boastful statement, all it really means is that I want her to be happy. If it can't be with me, then it's entirely up to her to see who gets that honor. I don't want to stay in the way of that.

They do say that if you love someone, you'll have to let them go.

**If you want to leave a review, please read the following.**

**It's come to my attention that there will be some issues for reviews. I know that the site won't allow to post 2 reviews in a single chapter. Even though I changed the content of chapter 14 to the actual chapter, the site won't recognize it as being new material. So basically, if you left a review when this was just an author's note, you won't be able to post a review based on the chapter. You can however, I'm pretty sure, leave your review as a guest (not logged in) and just write your username where it asks you to fill it out (if you want). That should work I believe. If it doesn't, you can always send me the review in a PM (this would also be good so I can actually reply to you). Now, if you never left a review for the author's note, you should have no problem leaving one at all.**

**So sorry about this. I should have just posted this as a 15th chapter, but then the author's note would have been there and ruined the flow of things. Thanks so much guys and I really do hope to hear from you. To all my American readers, I wish you all a happy, safe, and, blessed Thanksgiving. I hope you're reading this as you're waiting for dinner, since I sort of planned it that way. Remember: it's okay to have that second slice of pie, if only for today. For everyone else, thank you so much. Love you all and I'll see you soon!**


	15. Chapter 15

**It's really funny how even when you're on break from school, you can still find yourself to be extremely busy. And that's pretty much what happened. Really sorry about that.**

**Jimmy's POV**

The last thing I was expecting on this calm, casual Wednesday afternoon was to have it interrupted by a yelling Cindy Vortex.

"Alright Neutron, whatever you're doing, stop it, because we need to talk." She barged into the lab, surprising me even more since she gave me no advance notice of her arrival.

Deciding not to focus on her intrusion, I spoke. "We're on a last name basis now? When exactly did we resort back to that?" I know that our relationship hasn't exactly been the best since she told me about Liam, but I didn't think it was bad enough that we had to go back to our childhood labels, back when we supposedly hated each other.

"That's part of what I wanted to talk to you about." She replied.

Giving her my full attention although I would rather do anything but, I turned away from the computer and moved to sit on the small couch where we used to be in each other's company.

"How did you get in here anyway?" I asked since her being in here is something that hasn't happened in a while.

"Did you forget that you gave me a key?" Then as if for further proof, she held it up.

"Right." I had never regretted giving it to her than at that moment. "So what can I do for you Vortex?" I made sure to put the slightest of emphasis on her last name.

She exhaled sharply through her nose, calming herself down, and stood in front of me.

"What is up with you?" I pointed back to the computer.

"I'm pretty sure I found a new mysterious mass orbiting Neptune-."

"No, stop. That's not what I mean and you know it." And that's when I knew that what I said really was not the right thing since it only got her more angry. Before I got to speak another word, she did. "Why are you acting like this?"

"Acting like what?" I played the innocent card.

"An asshole."

Seconds of silence followed even though I knew I was the one who was supposed to speak.

"That's a bit of a harsh word, don't you think?"

"Actually, I don't think it's accurate enough." She replied as she placed her hands on her hips. I chuckled at that and looked away from her.

"And umm, why exactly do you think that?"

"Ever since I told you about Liam, and our relationship, you have been completely different towards me. And I understood it at first, I did. It was unexpected and new and considering what we had going on, it probably wasn't what you wanted to hear. So I just left you alone for a while and I figured you'd get over it."

Knowing she very likely wasn't done, I stayed quiet and let her continue.

"Then you met him and it was more than obvious that you didn't. But I figured you would go back to your normal self once he left and that didn't work either. And ever since then, you've been even worse towards me. You- you don't speak to me unless necessary, you don't answer my texts or my calls, you go out of your way to avoid me to the point where it's like we're complete strangers and I just don't understand why."

If I've ever been wrong about anything, it's now when I suspected that it sounded that Cindy was about to cry. Particularly because I knew her dominant feeling and large part of her being here was anger.

"And then today you go ahead and ask to change partners for our chemistry project? That just really took it over the line. I-I just don't know Jimmy. I don't know what's going on with you or with me or us. But I _need _an explanation. Because despite everything that happened between us, you're one of my closest friends. You probably always were. And I don't like the way things are going now."

There were a few things I could say to that. Not all of which would sound as sympathetic or apologetic as she was hoping for.

"Okay." I began as I nodded my head. "I'm sorry I made you feel that way, Cindy. It really wasn't my intention at all, honestly." That was indeed a truthful statement.

I could have kept the argument going and therefore make her even more upset, but I, like her, was looking to clear things up and maybe make some sort of amends. Unfortunately, I knew that meant I would have to be the bigger person in order for it to happen.

She nodded in return, although I wasn't entirely sure if that meant she accepted my apology. "Alright well, what's going on? It has to do with Liam, I assume. Right?" Since I couldn't bring myself to verbally say that he was the problem, I let my silence speak for me. "So what is it you don't like about him? When he was here, you didn't really take the opportunity to get to know him so that's kind of on you."

Choosing not to get mad over that last comment, I instead thought of a way to say what I was thinking using the least proclaiming words.

"I just-I don't think he's right for you."

That wasn't a very good attempt.

"Wha-what do you mean?" Before she could get a good look at my face, which gave more away than I meant to, I got up and moved to another part of the room, choosing to lean against a workbench as Cindy simply turned to face me.

"I-Well, how much do you even know this guy? You haven't really known him for very long. He doesn't even live around here, and he goes to college, Cindy."

"What's your point?"

"My point is that I don't really think you've thought all this through. I get that you like him and all but you won't see each other often, you don't have very many things in common, and the fact that he's older than you already-."

"That is none of your business. Whatever goes on between us and how often it does is none of your concern. But you're my friend and I just wanted to meet him. You don't have to like him but you do have to respect our relationship."

"So every difficulty involved in maintaining it doesn't bother you at all?" I jumped into my next question as opposed to focusing on her suggestion of respecting their relationship.

"Of course it's not ideal, but it is what it is. I'm not going to break up with him due to inconvenience."

"And you don't think that with all the present reasons, he doesn't have any...ulterior motives for being with you?" It was risky saying that, sure, and despite the possibility that she could kill me right then and there, I had the sense that she wouldn't understand what I was trying to say unless I outwardly said it.

"What exactly is that supposed to mean?" She replied in a tone that said she had a feeling she knows what I was talking about.

"He wants to sleep with you."

"So what if he does?" She replied quickly, and I wasn't sure if she had even thought about it before saying it.

To double-check that she really had said that, I took a pause before speaking again.

"What are you saying?"

Taking a deep breath, as if she knew this would take a while, she spoke once more.

"Jimmy-." She began exasperatedly, not knowing exactly how to start but I noticed that she didn't really sound angry anymore. "In a few months, we're going to be moving out of our houses. Going to college, having new experiences, new lives! And our whole world will no longer be this small, little town. You, me, Libby, Carl, Sheen, all of us are going to leave and branch out in the world, and there is no reason why we shouldn't be okay with that. So yeah, I'm going to meet boys and you're going to meet girls and since it's all a part of life, we're going to have to embrace it. Liam is not the first guy that's going to come around and even though he happened earlier than you, or even I, had anticipated, you're just going to have to accept that."

* * *

**Cindy's POV**

Since the second I came down to the lab, I had started to regret it. I know this conversation is long overdue but that doesn't mean it had to happen today, under these conditions, when earlier events caused me to get in a really bad mood.

Jimmy really did request to change partners when our AP Chemistry teacher paired us together. He didn't even wait until after class to do it privately and instead just said it as soon as the teacher announced us as partners. Of course, everyone turned to glance at each of us, which just added to the humiliation. But it did give me more of a reason to finally confront him about everything that's been going on. And it really wasn't much of a shock that he didn't seem to think anything was the matter, based on his tone when I first got here.

I'm still upset with everything that went on but I'm glad that we were at last clearing the air and that he was being honest. I didn't however, expect him to say what he did about the reason why Liam is going out with me. Considering that's something that will eventually happen, in a completely consensual manner of course, it's not at all fair or correct for Jimmy to say that. The only way I could think to defend myself was to give him something of a necessary reality check. One that he apparently wasn't able to respond to.

"So, yeah, Jimmy." I spoke again when it seemed clear that he wasn't going to. "That's just the way it is."

He wasn't looking at me but I knew that I had his attention. I also know him well enough to know that his refusal to look at me only meant that he was taking in what I just said.

Now would have been a good, although impolite, time to leave. But I didn't want to excuse myself when our, Jimmy and mine's relationship, was uncertain.

"Okay." He finally spoke after a few more moments. "I get what you're saying. There's no changing or stopping it. Not just you and Liam, but life. And that, like you said, is just the way it is."

I nodded but didn't want to smile so I wouldn't seem cocky.

More of that awkward silence, that I don't think I'll ever get comfortable with, followed. When neither one of seemed like we would be moving or saying anything else, he spoke again.

"I don't want to be rude, but is there anything else you needed? I have to get back to work." He gestured in the direction of the large computer and I understood what he meant. While the more urgent matter for my visit was, somewhat, taken care of, there were a couple of more things I wanted to discuss.

"Yeah. Umm, why didn't you tell me you got into MIT?"

"How do you know about that?"

"Your mom told my mom." The way he rolled his eyes said that he wasn't even surprised about it. "And she wouldn't even have brought it up if Liam hadn't mentioned you getting into Caltech."

"Well then, I guess we can thank Prince Charming for helping deliver the good news."

"Why didn't you tell me?" I repeated the question and ignored the Prince Charming comment. "I found out about it like three weeks ago."

"You don't need to know everything that goes on in my life Cindy." He said as he walked around me back towards the computer.

"I-I know that. But you should have told me Jimmy. I'm your friend and it's a big deal. I would have been really happy to know about it."

"Just like I would have been really happy to hear about you getting into Columbia."

Ugh, I knew this would come up sooner or later.

"Jimmy, I wanted to tell you about that in person. I figured, knowing you know how much it means to me, you'd prefer hearing about it in person than a phone call or a text. I just wasn't around to tell you. But that doesn't mean you couldn't tell me about MIT, or while we're at it, Caltech when that first happened. And that's great, by the way. The fact that you got into your top choices? That's...awesome."

"Thank you." He said in a much calmer tone. "Same to you. Columbia. That's really amazing."

"Thanks." I replied. "Did you err- did you get in anywhere else?" I asked, and I wished he could sense how hopeful I sounded that he would tell me.

"I got into NYU."

That was honestly the last place I was expecting he'd say.

"NYU?"

"Yes. It's in New York."

"I know where it is. I- why there?"

"It's a great school." He shrugged.

"No, it's not. I mean, it is, but not for you. You could do better."

"So could you." I gave him a questioning look, not really entirely sure what he meant by that.

"I umm- I did also get into Brown." I noticed a trace of a smile come onto his lips when I said that.

"I know."

"How-?"

"Sheen." He said and since Sheen and Libby's relationship was still as strong and honest as ever, that was all the explanation I needed. "Congratulations on that too."

This time I gave him a half smile instead of a thank you. "I still haven't heard from Princeton and I also applied to UCLA as well."

"UCLA?"

"Yes. It's in Los Angeles." I playfully threw his words back at him.

"Why that school?"

"Their psychology program is amazing." I replied with the answer I had repeated to myself various times.

"You don't care about that."

"Umm, thanks for the input, but I think I'll be the judge of what I do and don't care about. Besides I'm just trying to keep my options open."

"You already got into Columbia and Brown and you're probably going to go to one of those two. How many more options do you want?"

"I just want to know I'm making the right choice. I-I don't have to explain it to you. It's my future."

"You're aware that UCLA is a state school right?"

"Does this have to do with Liam?"

"Wow, you really can't go three seconds without thinking about Lover Boy, can you?"

"As if they're better spent standing here with you."

"You're the one that came here."

"And now, that I'm done with what I needed, I'll gladly be leaving." I turned towards the door.

"And I'll be happy to see you go." I rolled my eyes, not wanting to waste any more breath on him. "Don't forget to leave your key on the way out!" If I weren't so angry, I would have stopped in surprise. Instead, I threw the key back over my shoulder, likely landing close to where I was just standing but not caring if it didn't.

Less than a minute later, still annoyed but now out in the daylight, I pulled out my phone from my pocket. After dialing a couple of buttons and holding it up to my ear, I waited a few seconds until the other line pick up.

"Hey." I started, now in a cheerful tone. "I know it's sort of last minute, but if it's alright with you, I was wondering if I could go see you this weekend."

**Short, I know, and considering how long the time was from the last update to this one, probably a bit disappointing. There are a couple of important things in the story coming up and I didn't want to add to this chapter to not make it too long or to take away from Jimmy and Cindy's conversation, which I felt was important. There are however, a couple of new developments to the story in this chapter if you look close enough. **

**Thank you so much for reading! Since I have the chance now, let me just say, I hope you all have a great new year in 2016. I wish you all the best. Please leave a review if you can. Thanks again!**


	16. Chapter 16

**...Hi...**

**Cindy's POV**

"And that over there is the library where I'm a little embarrassed to admit I spend a lot of time in." Liam looked away with a playful, bashful look as he pointed to the brick building.

"Aww, don't be embarrassed. It's good that you make the effort to focus. I can't imagine it's easy to do with everything you've got going on around you."

I arrived to UT a couple of hours ago and have been touring the campus, courtesy of Liam, ever since. It didn't at all feel like the recruiting type, which considering I still hadn't made up my mind about where I was going to college, I was glad about. I didn't apply to UT, and you wouldn't think it at all with the casual, relaxed way Liam was conducting the tour.

Regardless, it did give me a chance to experience what being on a real college campus is like that isn't the rehearsed or full of the greatest hits that you would see during an official campus tour.

"So, what do you think?" Liam asked me as he took my hand in his.

"I like it." I answered truthfully. "It's a beautiful campus. Really big though. How do you not get tired?"

"You get used to it." He smiled. "So that's pretty much it. We could go into town to catch a movie or something later, but what do you want to do until then?"

"I was actually thinking, if it's fine with you and all, that we could back to your room and just...hang out."

I really didn't want to be overly forward with what I was trying to say so I hoped that Liam understood.

"Oh. Err, yeah. If you want, that-that's fine with me."

He did.

It's not like I came all the way over here just to sleep with him. We did have an agreement that I would come see him at school anyway. I do sincerely like him. A lot. And since it's nothing like the feelings I had for the last, and only, person I had sex with, I feel like it makes a lot more sense for me to do this.

Unfortunately for us, the large campus made the return to his dorm room seem impossibly long. The only thing that didn't make it seem as endless was of course, his company, particularly having his hand in mine.

"So how's everything back home?" He asked after a few minutes of walking. "I realized since the second you got here, I've done nothing but talk about me and this school, probably boring you to death." He explained with a chuckle, as if he were just acknowledging it for the first time. "So what's up?"

"You're not boring me. I chose to come here remember?" I assured him. "Everything's good back home. School's going well. Although, Libby is driving me crazy with all the preparations for pro-." I quickly stopped myself, not wanting to finish that sentence.

"Preparations for what?" He asked, unfortunately catching on to that last part.

"Umm-" I began even though I already knew I would end up telling the truth. "The prom is coming up. It's not for another like a little over two months but Libby's on the committee and of course she thinks no one is doing anything and that she has to pick up the slack and then drags me into it-."

"Do you have a date?"

"Uh, what?"

"Do you have a date to the prom?"

"Err, well, I was- I was probably just going to tag along with Libby and Sheen since I don't."

"I'll take you." He suddenly announced.

"Oh. No, you -you don't have to do that. Really. You-you're probably sick of that high school stuff anyway. I don't want to bother you."

"It wouldn't bother me Cindy. I'm the one asking." Then as if to reassure me that I shouldn't be worried about it, he brought my hand up to his lips and kissed it. "Text me the info?" And that's when I knew I couldn't possibly say no.

"Yeah. Of course." I got on my tippy toes and gave him a quick kiss which I noticed he instantly smiled.

"So what color is your dress?" He asked as we continued to our trek.

"I actually don't know yet. I've narrowed it down to four. But I wouldn't even have options if it weren't for Libby. She's been looking for the perfect prom dress since like freshman year. I guess I just sort of just caught the bug along the way."

"You're going to look beautiful no matter what you wear. I know it."

"I guess." I replied with a playful, joking shrug.

Shortly later, we arrived to his room. I may never have been into a college dorm room (and seeing as I'll be living in one in a few months, I should have more of an interest) but I got the feeling that this was basically it. There were two of everything. Dresser, desk, chair, closet, and of course, bed.

While I was only here for a bit to drop off my things when I first got here, I didn't get a chance to really look around the room, particularly Liam's side.

I suppose it was pretty typical for a teenage boy's room. A couple of movie and band posters on the walls, a pennant for UT football, textbooks and papers scattered on the desk, some clothes thrown over the chair, framed pictures of what I assumed were his family and friends on a nearby shelf. Overall, it was just nice to see a more personal side to him.

"I ugh, I tried to clean up a bit before you came." He said with a tint of embarrassment once he noticed I was looking around.

"Yeah, I can tell." I gave him the smile he knew meant I was just teasing him.

I stole a quick glance at his roommate's side out of pure curiosity and saw that it was more or less the same if only a little messier.

"So thanks again for letting me come." I said as I approached him and placed my arms around his neck. "I know it was kind of last minute, but I-I really needed to see you."

"Glad I wasn't the only one." With a very brief smile, he leaned in to kiss me, one that I instantly returned.

Our kiss became firm yet deep very quickly and I soon found the backs of my knees touching his bed although I wasn't entirely sure of which one of us turned me in that direction.

"Are you sure you want to?" And if I wasn't already ready, the way his voice sounded when he said that did the trick.

"Yes."

It was a mutual effort to get on his bed, but I was the one, at least as far as I could tell, who seemed to be somewhat nervous about it.

I can't help but feel like it's my first time again. Probably because, apart from the physical aspect of it, everything about it is new. It's with a different person, a new setting, a different type of relationship. And since I do have experience in this, likely more than he is expecting me to have, I didn't really know what to do. Should I take over or let him keep going? Do I tell him what I like or start taking things into my own hands? I just feel like it's so complicated now. This was so much easier when it was with-.

No. Stop it.

I am not going to think about that right now. Or ever.

It wasn't like I was totally uninvested in Liam. The fact that his shirt was off, jeans were unbuttoned, and he was moaning into my ear was proof of that.

But there was something off about it. And as much as I wanted to, I couldn't deny that.

It's not like what he was doing wasn't pleasurable. Because my God, it was. I had no doubt that if it kept going at this rate, it would leave me, and hopefully him, satisfied. And that's exactly what I want.

I want him.

I want him in the most intimate and private of ways. I want him to kiss me with a passion and touch me with the vigor I never thought I'd feel again. I don't love him. Not yet. But I want it in a way that I'll feel forever, even after it ends. And I'll know when that happens because I already know what it feels like.

It's new. He's new. Liam.

So new, that I don't think it will be easy to break in. I want to try. Of course, I do. But it will change. It'll change everything.

It's a further step in our relationship, and in my sexual experience. Overall, it's another change in my life completely. Who knows where and how we'll, Liam and I, will go? I don't want to think about it, to be honest. It's still so...so...new.

Which I don't think is something I'm ready for.

In one of my stronger attempts to retaliate, I pushed against him, enough to release his lips from the tops of my breasts.

"What is it?" He said breathlessly and clearly surprised and if I wasn't mistaken, the tiniest bit frustrated.

"I-I'm sorry." I said mindlessly, not really realizing that I had said it. I bit my lip while still struggling to catch my breath and feeling that I should explain myself better. "I... ugh...-"

"Did I hurt you? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah." I replied quickly, unable to believe that he thought he was the problem. "It wasn't you. It's just-... The last time that it...happened, it- didn't really go so well." Based on the look on his face, I could tell that I needed to elaborate. "It's just..." I started off nervously as I played with the wrinkled skirt of my unzipped dress. "The last guy I was with- and well, he was also the first- I- didn't love him or anything. And I just- I don't know, I guess I don't really feel comfortable doing something like that anymore unless it's with someone that I do love."

That seemed to work so far.

"And I know that it's so lame and old-fashioned, but I wouldn't feel right doing it again before I'm ready. So for now, I just- I would rather wait."

I know I haven't known him in general for very long, but I like to think I know him well enough to make out the look of understanding on his face.

"Alright, well. That's fine." Unfortunately, his tone didn't match his expression.

"I'm sorry." I repeated before he could speak again. "And now I feel silly that I came all the way over here-."

"No, it's fine, Cindy really. I don't want you to feel like you owe me anything. You're not ready or whatever so, yeah I'll wait." The weak half smile was all the proof I needed to know that he was not one hundred percent okay with this. But knowing that it would potentially start an argument that I was not ready to handle, I didn't apologize a third time.

"Okay." I said simply as I flattened out my skirt while swinging my legs of his bed and making no eye contact. It was in a mutual, non-verbal agreement that we get redressed. Neither one of us spoke again until a couple of minutes after that.

"There's a really good pizza place a couple blocks from campus. It's not really a far walk. Do you want to get some dinner and then go see that movie?"

"Yeah. That sounds really nice." I answered once I was facing him.

Giving me a full smile, he took my hand as I reached for my purse and within seconds we were out in the hallway.

We were quiet for a while which only gave me time to fully indulge in and appreciate how okay we are after what just happened.

"So who else has a date?" Liam broke me out of my thoughts.

"Hmm?"

"To the prom? It's not just you, Libby, and Sheen going, is it?"

"No." I laughed. "I'm not sure about Carl. I don't know if you got this impression when you met him, but he's quite a hit with the girls at school. So I'd imagine that narrowing down a prom date is going to be a bit of a challenge for him."

"I did get that actually. It's the only explanation I can think of for those girls' wandering eyes at our table." We laughed together, thinking it was funny how we both noticed it. "So what about Jimmy?"

And since I knew there was no way I could play dumb about it without him looking through me, I replied as honestly as I could.

"I don't know. He hasn't mentioned anything. Granted, I haven't spoken to him in a while. But I'm really not sure."

"Are you guys fighting?"

"You'd have to be talking to be fighting and we're not really doing much of that anyway."

"You're not talking? Why, what happened?"

"Just-just let me handle it, okay? Jimmy's tough to deal with. He's not an easy person to get through."

"But you can do it?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

"Hmm." I knew he was saying so much in that simple hum and as much as I knew that I should let it go, that was something I would not be comfortable doing.

"What's that supposed to mean? That little hum?"

"I don't know. I guess you must be pretty important to him if you say you can talk to him."

"We've known each other a long time, so yeah, I like to think that I'm one of the few who can. Is that a problem?"

"It just makes me think there must be something -I don't know what but something- between you two that makes you so close and so special to each other."

In every way I pictured my visit going, this, arguing about my relationship with Jimmy in the middle of campus, was not one of them.

I was really surprised to say the least, and I hoped that my expression showed it. I could tell it was taking way too long for me to say anything, so I added an incredulous shake of my head before I spoke.

"Nothing is now or has ever happened between me and Jimmy. Nothing serious, anyway." That last part came out before I could even stop it. The look on his face said that that clearly was not the right thing for me to say. "Okay, so we kissed once. A long time ago. But it didn't mean anything. You can't tell me that you've never kissed one of your female friends."

"I haven't actually." He said as he crossed his arms. "Do _you_ make a habit of it?"

_What the hell?_

"What? No! How can you say that? I'm trying to be honest with you about this."

"Okay. Go ahead."

I'm not ashamed of what I did with Jimmy. Or even every time we did it. And while I do believe that the key to a strong, healthy relationship like the one I want to have is open communication and honesty, there is just no way I can bring myself to tell Liam everything that has happened between Jimmy and I. Simply telling him that he and I have kissed one time already got him mad. Anything beyond that, well, I'd rather not think about it.

"Look, Jimmy and I have known each other since we were kids. I'm sure you have friends you've known for that long too. We became friends, we grew up together, we have stories and experiences that we are never going to forget." Which I, now that I'm saying it to someone else, didn't realize had more than one context. "He is one of my best friends. So no matter how long we fight for or what it's about, we are always going to end up forgiving each other, and I know he would say the same. You are just going to have to deal with that."

It took him about a minute to process that, which is how long it took him to reply.

"Alright, I'm sorry I got so upset. I think it's good you have someone you can rely on so well. He seems like a great guy too. I mean it, seriously." I gave one slow, long nod that hopefully concluded that conversation.

"It's fine." I said as my final words on that. "Can we go get dinner now? I'm starving."

"Yeah." He gave me a small but growing smile and took my hand in his once more as we walked towards the campus's exit.

* * *

**Jimmy's POV**

In the time since Cindy stormed out of the lab after our unsuccessful reconciliation to today, we have spoken a grand total of zero times. With the only interaction we have being when we pass back classwork and graded assignments to each other, it's as if we're complete strangers, just like Cindy said. It's been a month since we last spoke, a near impossibility, considering the conditions and amount of time we're around each other.

The good thing about this whole situation, if you can imagine there being a silver lining, in all this, is that it has given me time to focus on other parts of my life that aren't clouded by an attractive eighteen year old blond.

Though there was hardly any doubt, I managed to get accepted into all the colleges I applied to and got offered full scholarships for each. Needless to say, I have a pretty important decision to make. While there were times when I thought I had chosen and was certain of my decision, there would always be some important factor I had forgotten about that led me to reconsider the other schools. Nothing is 100%, yet with deposits due soon, I was constantly reminded that I was running out of time. I wasn't the only person going through this dilemma, of course, and that I was grateful for.

This academic year, apart from it being the last I spend in the public education system, has been one of the most interesting, for obvious reasons. With all that going on, it definitely feels like I've been paying less attention to the other parts of my social life, primarily spending any free time with my other friends. Luckily, I'm meeting up with Carl today.

A few weeks ago, I promised Carl I would enhance his acoustic guitar into an electric one. It's done so by a small device that I had been working on and perfected before I told him about it, and since I don't really see him anymore, I thought it would be a good opportunity to finally install it.

Within a few minutes, he made it down to the lab where he handed me his guitar and I got to work.

"Do you need any help?" He asked as I turned towards the workbench.

"No, that's okay. It won't take long. You can just hang out." I saw him nod his head and it didn't take very much longer for us to start catching up.

"Have you decided where you want to go yet?" I asked at one point and since we were discussing our post high school plans, it was obvious that I was talking about which college he will go to.

"I'm really not sure. A&amp;M and UPenn have really good programs but there's a lot to consider, you know?"

For a while now, Carl's shown a lot of interest in the veterinary sciences. Considering his past with animals, that shouldn't be much of a surprise and we're all really happy for him that he's deciding to pursue that.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I haven't really made up my mind yet either." I replied.

"Oh, that reminds me. Have you decided if you're coming along with us in the limo to prom?" Prom is, in case it wasn't obvious by Carl's question, coming up. It's about six weeks away but of course, is a big event and preparations have to be done much earlier than that. Libby's mom was kind enough to arrange a limo reservation for all of us as long as we put some money forward. Seeing as I was the only one that I know of that hasn't even made a decision on if I'll be tagging along, and we're suppose to give Libby's mom the money soon, it made sense that he asked.

"I hadn't really thought about it." Which was true. "Sorry, I've just had a lot on my plate." Which was very true. "I'll think about it over the weekend." And since I suppose there was no getting out of it for the time being, I do plan to make that true.

He responded with a nod, giving no indication that he suspected anything of the real reason why I hadn't made up my mind about it yet.

It's obvious that Cindy will be one of the people going in the limo. And it's safe to assume that she'll be bringing what's-his-name as her date. The last thing I want is to voluntarily put myself in a situation where I'll have to be in close quarters with them, even if it's, at most, for the ride there and the ride back. It would probably make Cindy uncomfortable though, which would be a thrill for me to see.

I did briefly consider not going to the prom at all, just avoid that situation altogether. But that didn't seem like a good enough excuse and there was no way I could come up with a strong enough lie when my friends would inevitably ask why I wasn't going.

"I hope you decide to come, It would be weird not having you there." I don't know if Carl had said that as a way of reading my mind or he really meant it. Hearing him say that reminded me of what a good friend he is and has been throughout all these years. That's probably why I didn't feel any sense of humiliation with what I said next.

"Is Cindy going?" Also, there really was no point in not getting to it.

"Yeah. Do you really think she wouldn't?"

"Do you know if Liam's going?" Despite what I just said about Carl's friendship, the only way I was able to say that was by keeping my head down at his guitar and making zero eye contact with him.

"I would assume so. I'm not sure." When he noticed that I didn't respond, he must have taken it as in invitation to continue. "Would that be a problem?"

"No." I replied way too quickly. "Why would it be?"

"No reason. It just seemed weird that you asked since, you know, you didn't really seem to care before."

"Well, if I do end up in that limo, then I think it should matter to me to know who else will be in it."

"I agree but it just seems a little weird because you haven't talked about Cindy in a long time."

"I didn't really have a need to talk about her before." I said both in attempt to end the conversation and explain myself although everything in me told me that I didn't have to.

"So you are angry at her." He answered his own question even though I couldn't think of anything in what I said that would make him come to that conclusion. "You need to cut her some slack. We all loved the way you two were when you were...well, you know. There's really no reason why it shouldn't be the same way as it was then."

"What's your point?" I was both angry that he was talking about this while curious to what he was going to say.

"My point is that just because she has a boyfriend doesn't mean you two can't be friends. She's the same Cindy that she always has been, so there's no reason that-."

"I'm in love with her!" I nearly screamed with a frustrated release of what I was holding.

That became the first time I said it out loud to someone else. I never thought about what it would feel like, since I never really expected it to happen.

I looked up at Carl, who looked as if he had correctly solved a difficult math problem but was still skeptical about it.

"You-you're what?"

With a sigh that was releasing weeks worth of relief, I walked around the table I was working on and leaned against.

"I'm crazy about her, okay? I have been for a while now. No one knows. And I just- I can't _stand _that she is out there with some public school going pretty boy with the IQ of a brick. But there's nothing I can do about it. She's made that very clear."

After a few more seconds of silence, he finally spoke.

"I'm going to assume that she doesn't know?"

"Obviously."

"Did-did you ever plan on telling her or...?"

"I did. I was. The day she came back from Aspen, I was all set to tell her. But first she told me about Liam, and well, I didn't think it'd be wise to tell her after that."

I could see him give a slight nod as if he were understanding.

"So what are you going to do?"

"Hmm?"

"About Cindy. What you just told me. You're not just going to leave it like that, are you?"

"There's not much else I can do. I'm not about to go destroy her happiness just to satisfy my own. Besides, there's no proof that she feels about me the way I do about her."

He nodded in approval, knowing that I was at least right about that.

"That's why this whole prom thing, it's just..." I trailed off and trusted that he got what I was trying to say.

"Well, whatever you want to do, I'll support you and help in whatever way you want."

"Thank you." I didn't even know if I would need to take him up on his offer.

"And I don't think I need to say it, but just so you know, your secret's safe with me."

I gave a half-smile and a weak nod, even though I appreciated it immensely.

**I hope it was worth the wait. Even a little bit. You all know how much I love those reviews so I hope to see some, and thank you so SO much for those that I've gotten lately, nudging me for an update. I'm so thankful for every single one. Hopefully, you enjoyed!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Thanks so much for the patience everyone! I have an announcement at the bottom! But first...**

**Cindy's POV**

"Okay, what do you think of this one?"

It was those words that brought me out of my thoughts.

"Yeah, it's nice."

When Libby gave a long, impatient sigh I knew that that was not the right thing to say.

"I know it's 'nice' Cindy. That's why it's made the cut so far. Are you even paying attention?" She turned her head away from the three sided mirror and looked back at me, noticing that I actually wasn't when she saw that I wasn't even facing her direction. "Cindy!"

"Wha-? I- I'm sorry Libby! Look, I'm really flattered that you want me to help you pick but you look great in all of them and they're all beautiful dresses." I tried to defend myself and hopefully get on her good side.

"Yeah, that's why I need your help." She said with a shake of her head as she turned back to face the mirror. As my best friend continued to turn her body and strike various poses, seeing herself from all possible angles, I couldn't help but share her stressful feeling, only it was for different reasons.

Prom is officially only three weeks away and while picking out my dress is not my biggest concern (since I've already done it), it doesn't mean that it will be a worry-free time.

I've actually been thinking a lot about Liam and our relationship in general. After the whole ordeal at UT, we saw each other one more time a couple of weeks ago. As much as I'd like to say that the distance and time apart, despite constant communication, has been good for us, I don't feel confident that that's an accurate statement. We are still completely infatuated with each other as we were the day we met, but it seems that my biggest fear going into this relationship, the long distance and lack of time struggle, was now making a prominent appearance.

I am, of course, hoping everything gets better. And since he's still taking me to the prom, I'm really optimistic about the chances of it improving. For now, however, I'm stuck pondering on our near future while my best friend models her narrowed down gowns for the big night and tries to make a decision before we leave the store.

"So how's Liam?" Even though she was still busy looking at herself, I could tell she was trying to appease me.

"Good. Yeah, he's good." I had a real shortage of adjectives at the moment.

"What did you guys do last time he was in town? You never told me." It wasn't that I was hiding it from her or anything. It just never came up.

"A lot actually! He went with me to the museum for my art history final project. Then we had lunch at that cute little place by the town hall. We walked through the park a little after that and I didn't even know that the flower festival was in town so we hung out there for a bit."

"Oh, that does sound like fun." She said sincerely. "I don't think this is it. I'm going to try on the other one." She excused herself as she carefully walked over to the fitting room.

She wasn't taking very long with putting on the dresses, which I was glad about since this was not something I wanted to be doing all day long.

"So if you don't mind me asking," she started once she was in front of the mirror again, this time in a dress of a richer color and a deeper neckline. "You and Liam haven't...you know? Right?"

I mentally applauded her for not being so unfiltered about the word.

"No, actually no." I started honestly because there was no reason to be lying about it. "We haven't."

"Oh." Even though she was the one that brought it up, I had a feeling she wasn't fully invested on our conversation. "Don't take this the wrong way but really? I mean, you like him and all and he's definitely into you. Not that that's why you should or anything, but there must be a reason why you haven't yet? Right?"

By then she had turned back around to face me, likely because she noticed that I wasn't responding.

"I just- I thought that considering that we don't even see each other very often and we haven't really had much of a chance to connect as much as we did when we first met, I didn't want to rush anything."

"And he was okay with that?"

"Well, yeah. He wasn't forcing himself on me or anything."

"Of course not. I wasn't getting at that. So does that mean he knows nothing about you and Jimmy then?"

"No, not-not that. Just that we're friends."

"Oh, well then that makes sense. He thinks you're a virgin."

"Libby!" I scolded, quickly looking around to see if anyone had heard her.

"Relax Cindy, no one's paying attention to us. But yeah, that would explain why he's willing to wait for you. That's actually really nice."

"Well, that's not the case because he knows that I'm not."

"Wait, what?" She turned to face me. "I'm confused."

"Liam knows that I've... had sex." I began explaining, giving into what she said about nobody paying us any attention. "But he doesn't know with whom, nor how much, nor under what... circumstances." I chose what I thought was the best word for Jimmy and mine's former situation.

"So you're just lying to him about it?"

"What? No! I'm not lying. He's never asked for details."

"And what are you going to do if he does?"

"I-." I honestly haven't given any thought to what I would do or say in the event that Liam asks me for the specifics of my sexual history. I've actually considered it a blessing that he hasn't. I suppose he just thinks that it was with a boy from school or someone I've met in my past. If anything, he should think it's good that I want to wait until I feel strongly enough about him for us to have sex. Especially since that would imply that the first time, based on what I've told him, didn't mean anything.

"I don't know, Libby, okay? I haven't really thought about it. But he never brings it up and he's never indicated that he wants to know." Then as an afterthought, I added, "Besides, I've never asked for his, so I think it's good that we have that certain level of privacy to each other."

"Okay fine, if you say so. I just don't want to see you get in a mess you can't get yourself out of."

"I'll be fine. You don't have to worry about me." I assured her, grateful for her concern, but still wanting to move on from this topic. "So you think you found the one yet?" I asked with a great sense of hopefulness since I also didn't want to stay here much longer.

"No." She sighed. "And there's still three more to try on. This is a lot harder than I thought it'd be, I admit."

"I have an idea." I confessed as I reached for my purse, intending to grab my phone. "Why don't I send Sheen some photos and we'll see what he thinks. " I knew it meant I would technically have to stay longer since she would have to go back and try on the dresses again, but I'd take that than having to come back again.

"Cindy, are you out of your mind?" The look she wore showed that she was seriously concerned for my mental health. "I can't let Sheen, my boyfriend and prom date, see me in my potential dress before the night of. That's just asking for bad luck."

"That's for your wedding dress Libs. Not prom."

"It's just as important." She fought. "You only have one senior prom. And I plan to only have one wedding."

Maybe it was because we were just talking about Sheen but there was something in her tone that made me want to question her last statement further.

"You- Is this your way of saying that you're going to marry Sheen someday?"

"I mean, it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. He hasn't asked me or anything obviously. But yeah, I could definitely see us married someday." The smile she had on her face towards the end said that she was likely thinking about it right as she said it.

"But," It's not that I'm against her idea. This is a conversation we've never had before and while I'd rather not have it in the middle of an overpriced dress shop surrounded by the height-of-prom-season crowd, it was something I was really curious about, no matter how intrusive it might be. "That's a big commitment, even one to just be pondering about. Don't you think?"

"Well yeah but," She glanced down and wringed her hands. I didn't mean to make her uncomfortable although she did look like she wanted to say something. "I'm in love with him Cindy. You know that. I can't help but to sometimes think about a future with him. I know that you'll think it's silly that at my age I'm thinking we'll be together forever, but most of the time I do. He is so important to me. It just makes sense."

I smiled sincerely, happy to see her happy.

"That does make sense. Everyone can see how great you two are together. I guess I wouldn't be entirely surprised if I see you walking down the aisle towards him some day."

"Yeah. You never know, but it's nice to think about sometimes." Then as if she remembered our purpose for coming here, she run her hands along the bodice of the dress and turned to me again. "But don't think this little confession is going to change my mind about sending him anything. That's just crazy." She gave a small smile and a shake of her head. With one final look at the mirror, she let out an exasperated sigh. "Alright let's go."

"You're not going to pick one?" I tried not to sound overly desperate.

"No, I'll give it another few days to think about it. I cannot rush a decision like this, especially now that you mentioned Sheen." I let out a sigh of my own which I'm sure she heard.

"I'll just go change out of this." She gestured to the dress she was wearing. "Then let's go get a burger. I'm starving."

* * *

Luckily, Libby was the one driving us around all day because after we left our conversation in the dress shop, I found it difficult to focus on anything that required a strong amount of attention such as operating a motor vehicle.

Libby, too absorbed in her thoughts about her prom dress and how all other parts of the big night would go, didn't seem to notice that I was not in as deep thought about it as she was. Nor did she notice that we were both thinking completely different things. It wasn't ideal though, since the reason of why I was thinking what I was is partially due to her and her feelings.

With a guava-mango smoothie and a club sandwich in front of me, I wondered if I should bring it up to her. Although at this point, it was either that or hear her go over the options for the route the limo is going to take to the prom venue for the hundredth time.

"Can I ask you a question?"

Despite my abrupt and rude interruption, she didn't seem to show that it bothered her.

"Of course. What's up?" She asked as she popped a French fry into her mouth.

"How did you know you were in love with Sheen?"

There are a millions ways she could react to that. I'm actually expecting a combination of two or three and yet hopefully get an answer anyway. As much as I didn't want to look into her eyes as I said it, I really wanted to gauge her reaction as well.

"Well, it's a little difficult to say, seeing as we've known each other a really long time." Not a bad start, even though I would consider anything that didn't involve her asking me why I was asking as a good start. "I guess I knew I was in love with him when I realized that he- his self, our relationship- it devoured me. He became the first thing I thought about when I woke up and the last thing before I went to sleep. And I didn't care that that's how it is. He makes me happy, yet drives me crazy, and everything in between and it doesn't even matter because no matter what he is the best, most memorable part of my day. No offense towards you or anything, but Sheen and I share something I don't think you'll ever understand. He _cares _about me so much. So...unconditionally that he makes me think I'm worth it even when I feel like I'm not. When we first started going out, I never thought I'd feel this way. But now I don't think I will again. For anyone else, I mean. I'm sorry, I don't think I'm explaining it properly." She waved her hand dismissively in a concealed attempt to blink away the tears that had formed in her eyes.

"No, it's fine!" I reassured her. "I think I, more or less, get it now. It-it sure is something right?"

"Yeah." She nodded. "Why do you want to know? Do you think you're falling in love with Liam?"

Liam.

Right.

"Err, yeah. I mean, well, maybe. I've just, as you know, never been in love, so I figured I'd ask an expert."

"Well, I'm no expert," she laughed. "But I'm glad I was able to help you. Anything else you want to know?"

"Do-do you think that maybe part of the reason you're so in love with him is because you've known him since you were kids?"

"Maybe, but probably not. I sure as hell wasn't secretly hoping he'd grow up to be my boyfriend when we were fighting the Yokians or something. But I guess the good part about knowing him for as long as I have is that I got to grow up with him, you know? I got to see him go from this obsessive little fanboy to the man of my dreams." At that, she cocked her head to the side. "Now that I think of it like that, maybe it does help that I've known him for so long. I wouldn't be able to value or appreciate who he was and who he is now. Like that time I stayed home with the flu and after school, Sheen brought over soup, my favorite candy, and the first four seasons of _Ultra Lord._"

"Classy."

"That's just how he is Cindy." She defended him with a smile. "You know that. And I love that."

That became the last we spoke about our love lives before going back to discussing prom plans and eating lunch. However, I wish I could say the same for my thoughts on the whole matter.

* * *

With all that's been going on lately, I completely forgot that Liam is supposed to be coming into town. Seeing as this is the last time I'll see him before prom, this is our last chance to get everything prepared for the night of, meaning that this visit is crucial.

As soon as I hopped into his car on Friday afternoon, he spoke.

"Hey, so before we head over do you mind if we get some coffee first?"

"Yeah, of course."

It wasn't like Liam was very familiar with places around town, since, if you add up all the days he's been here, he's only been here about ten days. But thanks to the Retroville native in me, he already has a couple of favorite spots in town.

After our quick caffeine pick up we headed over to the tux rental place, one of our many stops of the day. Despite that we had a long but important day ahead of us, Liam didn't at all look like he was prepared for it. It didn't seem that the coffee was doing much to help.

While I was still curious to what was happening, I narrowed it down to him just being tired from his commute.

"Is everything okay?" I said once we pulled into the parking lot. "You've been awfully quiet. I figured you're tired from the drive but I think there might be something else going on." I considered his silence to be an affirmative answer even though I could tell that he was thinking by the look on his face.

"I-." He started and while I would normally try to get ahead of him and say what I thought he would say, I chose not to this time. "I wasn't sure when to tell you this. Anytime after today would make me the biggest jerk in the world. And I don't even really know how I planned on telling you."

"Liam?" I said softly enough that he didn't seem to hear me.

"I think we should break up, Cindy."

Admittedly, that's not what I thought he would say. I don't really know what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn't that.

I kept repeating the words over and over in my head and it became the reason I wasn't saying anything out loud.

Why? I thought everything was going so well. Are you no longer attracted to me? Is it the distance? The long time apart? Is it somebody else? From school, most likely.

All these were questions that I didn't ask but I did want answers to. I didn't understand how it could be happening, especially after everything we've been through so far.

Before he got a chance to ask me to say something and before I was even able to think of anything, I blurted out. "Is this because I won't have sex with you? Because that is really-."

"No! I- that's not it at all. I don't know why you would think that. That has nothing to do with it, Cindy." I looked away from him slightly angry but also not wanting to complain about it to avoid sounding whiny. "I just think that, after giving it a lot of thought and considering, that there's someone else."

He wasn't able to see me rolling my eyes. _Of course._

"She's from school, I assume?"

"What? No, I'm not talking about me. I'm talking about you."

No one will ever to calculate the speed at which I turned my head to face him.

"Excuse me?"

"This was great." He gestured between the two of us even though all I hoped for was that he would be able to explain himself. "I'm really glad that I got to know you and I'm sure you feel the same, but I'm not the one you should be in a relationship with."

"What are you saying?"

"Cindy, you clearly also like someone else. Maybe your feelings are even stronger than that."

If I didn't say something soon, I feared he would think I went into shock.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about."

"You do, you just can't bring yourself to admit it. Which is probably part of the reason you agreed to go out with me. But if you really don't know, you'll figure it out soon enough."

For me, at least, it became one of those moments where you wanted to say so much and yet nothing was able to come out.

"I just think it would be best." He continued. "I'm not mad or anything, but under our circumstances, it makes sense that one of us is going to be less invested in this relationship. So it's better we stop now before it gets worse."

More silence, although now I was taking in what he said as opposed to thinking of what to say.

"Look, it know it's messed up for me to do this so close to prom, so if you want, I'll still take you."

"No." I was finally able to react. "No, that's okay. That would be really pathetic. But thank you." I wasn't done speaking and Liam got sense of that so it was only a short while before I continued. "I may not agree with your reason for us breaking up, but you obviously have a better understanding of it than I currently do. If anything, it'll at least help me get some things straightened out." I saw him nod through my peripheral vision.

"So...Are we good?" I knew he was asking so he could make sure there are no hard feelings between the two of us.

"Yeah, we're good." I finally looked at him. "I kind of think I needed that, to be honest. Not just the break up but our whole relationship in general. It's...resourceful. If that makes any sense." He smiled.

"I think I know what you mean."

"Okay." I laughed. "You know as far as breakups are concerned, I think this one went pretty well. We're not yelling or throwing things at each other."

"That's true." He agreed.

"Would you mind driving me home? There's no need for us to be here anymore." I said as I looked past him at the store.

"Of course."

He started the car.

**Before you drop me your theories and/or probably tell me how you're screaming in excitement (or disappointment), I do have some news.**

**I have created a Twitter account to keep you guys better updated on the progress of the story! This will be a lot easier in terms of communication and letting you know what's going on. If you'd like to follow me, search up my username, D13Tribute (which was surprisingly not taken). If there are multiple results, please note that I refer to this story in the bio so that should make it easier to find. I'll also put the link in my profile.**

**So now please give me a review AND a Twitter follow. Hopefully you enjoyed the chapter! See you guys soon!**


	18. Chapter 18

**So, I am morally obligated to give out a warning before you read this chapter. I didn't plan it like this, I swear, but if you are under the age equivalent of the chapter number, you should be a little wary of this one. Or, so you don't miss too much, read everything up until the last scene. I'm sure most of you are overage though, but as a good, moral citizen, I figured the right thing to do would be to give you a word of caution. Also, the language is kind of strong in this one. With that said...enjoy.**

It's been over a week and not a single tear has been shed after my breakup with Liam. However, the same cannot be said for the amount of hours gone by thinking about what he said was his reason for doing it.

Ultimately it's what led me here, lying over the covers of my bed, taking a, what should have been, ten minute break from working on my senior project. Looking over at my alarm clock confirmed that it had indeed been over an hour since I lay down. I wouldn't be so annoyed with myself if it weren't for the fact that I do this at least once a day.

That, along with looking out the window at the house across the street from mine, has lately become a bit of a nasty, unhealthy habit.

After a few days, it occurred to me that if there's one thing being with Liam has taught me, it's that no relationship, of any kind, can succeed without the full investment of both parties. It unfortunately took me giving up a really great guy to learn that. I was with him as much as I could but it wasn't enough. He tried even harder but was at least smart enough to see that one, it was going nowhere and two, that my investment was going, according to him, to someone else.

That's not something he's wrong about. I can at least admit that. For a while now, I've been...distracted for lack of a better word. But unlike most distractions, mine's only made my life better.

It's a heavy yet true statement but I don't know where I would be without James Neutron in my life.

But first, I had to get over the fact that he was actually in it.

I'll never forgot the day I met Jimmy because it was also the day when I, wrongly, determined what I then thought would be how I felt about him for the rest of my life.

In one of my mother's very few acts of kindness, she thought it would be a nice idea if we walked across the street to our neighbors' house and introduced ourselves. That went over as pleasantly as you can imagine until Jimmy made a tremendous ass of himself by giving the worst first impression ever. He was rude and unnecessarily sarcastic and he radiated off cockiness. It was so strong, you could smell it. That was all I needed to make a decision about him and the kind of person he would be. The fact that my mother agreed helped strengthen my theory that it wasn't just a conclusion drawn up by my easily influenced self. My plan to eternally avoid him came to a halt when I saw him in class (and in my seat) the following Monday at school. And all that negative feeling was only a notch below what I felt at the end of that first week when I found out that he had gotten a higher grade than me on our history test.

I wasn't exactly a fan of Jimmy Neutron at that point and it stayed that way for a couple of months.

I thought I had and knew it all before he moved into town. I was far too young and stupid to understand that prior to that, I was still missing an important part. By thirteen, there was no way I thought I would have traveled to space or to an alien planet. Going to the North Pole and saving Christmas or getting super strength abilities from a radiation belt were not in my plans either.

But as time progressed, it became more and more difficult to ignore him and it wasn't just because of his abnormally large head and all its contents. It got to a point where jumping across time zones and dimensions was something I looked forward to being my weekend plans. Because Jimmy had been the one responsible for bringing so much excitement and, dare I admit it, fun into my life, my feelings towards him changed as well.

The most significant part however, came, almost ironically, after our little adventures ended. While they stopped, my feelings for Jimmy never did. I no longer saw him as the obnoxious, know-it-all with the overly defensive attitude, at least, not as much as I used to when we first met. I'd grown to respect him as both an individual and an academic rival and to this day, I remain impressed with not only the way he got us into those crazy situations, but also how he got us out. Despite that I had so many near death encounters due to that boy and his antics, I wouldn't take any of that back. Those adventures were the best part of my life.

That is until early September of last year, shortly before the first day of school.

I both like and dislike thinking about that night, and it's not just because I don't remember most of it. I was well enough to realize what was happening and who it was happening with because I'm not a reckless idiot. But, just as the Neutrons' move into town was a good thing, us not having sex that night was as well. Because had we done it then, under those conditions, we probably would have jumped straight to the same relationship we have at the current moment. Not speaking to each other, cold and distant, and to a certain level, resentful of all of our previous encounters.

Instead we became friends with benefits, yet another large change in my life caused by Neutron. By eighteen, I couldn't have imagined being in a no-strings-attached sexual relationship to anyone, let alone the town brainiac.

So looking at the overall events, and not even at the individual, smaller details, there are a lot of things Jimmy has greatly influenced in my life.

I still don't regret any of it though, not even the bad parts. Because if I didn't have the life I had with him, exactly as it was lived, I wouldn't feel the way I do about him.

Complicated isn't even an accurate enough word to describe the relationship I have with him. No adjective would really do it justice since what Jimmy and I have is immeasurable and there's no way I could ever fully state my feelings towards him.

I have known for a very long time that there are people, schoolmates and town residents alike, who have their fair share of opinions towards our relationship. Having a best friend who never hesitates to share her own proves that it is something that's still talked about.

It was funny at first. Very easy to roll my eyes or even give an exasperated laugh at. But it's gotten increasingly annoying as the years passed. You think that even after our epic adventures ended, people would stop using that commonality to link the two of us. But, of course, our big adolescent personalities took charge of that instead. I suppose I can't really be too surprised or even too upset. After all, it's not like they didn't have anything to work with.

To be completely honest, the talks and whispers spread about us are part of the reason why I was hesitant about agreeing to being Neutron's eventual sex buddy. Even though I knew this would be a completely private situation, I was always paranoid that someone could somehow find out and make all the talk about Jimmy and mine's relationship ten times worse.

I'm not one to care about what others think and I like to think I've done a pretty great job of making sure people know that about me. But when it comes to Jimmy, someone I've known and admired for such a long time, it matters to me.

Jimmy matters to me.

If you were combine everything people have ever said or thought about us, it only adds up to a fraction of the entirety of how much I care about him. I haven't even known Jimmy for very long, really. It hasn't even been a decade, and despite that, in all the time we've been acquainted, I have gone through a plethora of emotions with him, most of which have definitely come out in the last year.

Prior to this whole casually hooking up thing, I had strong yet limited feelings towards him. Past annoyance and suffocation of his huge ego, there has always been a part of me that found myself... attracted to him. I may have given some indications here and there, some less subtle than others. But once we started hooking up, everything changed.

In short, I never thought that Jimmy Neutron, _the _Jimmy Neutron, could ever make me feel as sexually pleased as he has this entire time. I mean, there had to be a reason why I kept going back to him nearly every day. I didn't lie when I explained to him the amount of experience I had when he asked what my sexual history was and I was really hoping that he wasn't either. Knowing he was a virgin as well was something I kept in mind during the time leading up to the big night. It's because of that that when we got down to it, I wasn't really expecting much, no matter how much he impressed me with everything he did to me in those two weeks. But that night we had sex for the first time was probably, from what I can remember, the only time I was happy to be mistaken with something regarding Neutron.

Despite that he's my first, I don't find it uncomfortable or inaccurate to talk about how...talented I find him to be in compromising positions. Even when we were under the influence that night at Britney's house, the way he kissed and touched me made me feel something that I was admittedly curious to explore further. So naturally, while I was surprised, I wasn't disappointed when the opportunity presented itself. And I'm especially not disappointed with the result.

I'm well aware that there's going to be other guys throughout my life that I'm going to be sexually involved with, Liam almost becoming one of them. But Jimmy has set quite a high bar and I'll be really surprised if anyone is able to reach it. Because the way I feel when I'm with Jimmy, it's nothing short of miraculous.

All that may be because he's my first.

Or maybe it's something more.

Of course, going through the crazy hormonal, adolescent stage with him across the street and in nearly every single one of my classes certainly added to how I looked at and thought about him. I know for a fact that I'm not the only girl around here who has noticed how nicely Jimmy has grown up. But as far as I know, no one, apart from, if it even counts, me, has done anything about it. I don't really know if it's from lack of interest or lack of trying, even on his part. But I can't deny that I'm, if you will, content, that he's never had a girlfriend or anything close to one. Jimmy is a special kind of human being which only a few, and I like to think I'm included in that, can truly understand what he's all about.

I can't help but think of what Libby said when I asked her how she knew she was in love with Sheen. Most prominently, that unconditional factor and the bond she spoke of. While Libby is very different than I am and even have contrasting opinions on certain topics, that, her explanation, is something I was surprised to discover that I fully understand.

Apparently, if it's anything how Libby described, I do know what it's like to be in love.

But that's not something I'm ready to share with anyone. Surely not the subject in question, but most especially, most dangerously, with myself.

Instead, I'd rather look ahead. To college, graduation, and finishing this stupid senior project, which now that I think about it, I'm not even entirely sure when it is due. AP students have a different deadline date than the rest of the senior class so asking just anyone wouldn't really help at all.

So I think I'll just take a walk across the street and ask a certain someone for the answer because they always have it. I'll go and see that person I think about when I wake up, go to sleep, and every moment in between.

With a similar feeling and posture I had the day I went down to the lab to talk about what happened at Britney's is the way I was crossing the street now. Despite it being for an extremely different intention, I couldn't help but to feel equally as nervous. The reason for that being, I noticed, is because this is the first time I'll be speaking to Jimmy in weeks.

With a determined state of mind, and yet a shaky hand, I rang the bell for the intercom.

"Hello?" I heard from the speaker seconds later. It was a distracted 'hello' though, probably meaning that he was working on something.

"Hey, it's me." I could have elaborated but I had a feeling he would know who it was.

"Hey." He replied curtly. But at least he replied.

"So, um I have a question about the senior project."

"Okay."

It took me a moment to figure out that he thought I was going to be asking it over the intercom.

"Can I come in? I'd rather ask in person." Silence followed for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, my answer came in the form of the chute sliding open under me.

* * *

**Jimmy's POV**

I can't deny that this is a surprise.

By that I mean that the great Cindy Vortex is at my lab's front door and that she's here to ask me a question about something she should already know all about.

If she's trying to break our silence, I wouldn't exactly say this is the best way to do it especially since I know she could do better. Then again, she is the one making the effort.

Half curious and half desiring to see her again, I opened up the chute.

I stayed exactly where I was as I waited for her to come down. It's not like we would be exchanging friendly banter or kissing as soon as she came down so there's no need for me to be waiting at the bottom of the chute, welcoming her.

Considering what happened the last time she was here, when she wanted to know what the hell was going on with me, I still found it to be more of a struggle to stay still then to run up to her. Now that I recall that day, I remember it was the last time we spoke to each other, a little over two months ago.

Luckily, I haven't had any more random outbursts of declarations of love like I did with Carl. And even luckier is that he kept his word about not telling anyone. I suppose I thought it would be good, reliving even, for someone else to know apart from me, although it doesn't even feel like it since we never talk about it.

I did decide to go to prom after all. Putting my feelings aside, I thought it would be the best way to take my mind off everything that's been happening lately even though my ride there and back would contain the reason for it. Apart from even that, while I'm never one to be enthusiastic about high school events, it would be the last chance to see my classmates in an upbeat setting before graduation two weeks following prom night as well as before I leave for college in the fall. Also, if I'm being honest, it would make my mom really happy. It's because of all that that I haven't really been too focused on getting a prom date even if that means I'll be the only single one in my group.

Before I was even prepared for it, I heard a thump close by that signified someone had landed in the lab. Not being overly concerned, since I already knew who it was, I didn't look up.

"Hey." Cindy said as if stopping by for a casual visit was an everyday thing even though, a few months ago, it was. "What are you doing?"

"Sequencing the genome of a Venus flytrap to see if there are any commonalities in proteins used in the smallpox vaccine." I said while keeping my eyes on the microscope.

"Oh." She exclaimed like she actually cared. "Sounds fun."

"It's quite tedious actually. Cytology isn't really my strong suit."

"Ah well, I'm sure you're doing great." Silence followed mostly because I wasn't sure how to respond to that without sounding cynical.

"So what was your question?"

"Yeah. Um, when is it due? I know we have a different due date than the non-AP kids and I think I'm just getting them mixed up. So do you -?"

"Wouldn't it have just been easier to ask someone not in AP and use the process of elimination to know when it's not due?" I snapped as I looked up at her and her face looked like she had been caught in the act. "Instead of, you know, going through all this trouble to come down here?"

"I-it-it didn't bother me to come here. Does this mean you don't know?"

"The tenth." I replied quickly before continuing on my work.

"Okay. Thanks." I could tell she was walking away even though she made no indication that she was heading for the door. Unsure if she was preparing herself to say something or if she was waiting for me to, I spoke.

"Well, I have a feeling you didn't just come here to ask about the project so if that's not all, what else do you want?"

"Liam broke up with me." She spoke confidently although it sounded more like she blurted it out by mistake. I, on the other hand, had to be the more poised of the two, considering what she had said.

This was certainly an unexpected piece of news. Granted, I don't know how I could have come upon that information in any other way unless from Cindy herself. Libby obviously was told as soon as it happened but out of respect and value for their friendship, I highly doubt she would have told Sheen, and by extension, me.

I have a thousand questions and concerns running through my head at this piece of information, but it all came around to me wondering if that's the real reason she's here. Given that the news was delivered so abruptly, I didn't have much of a chance, or any really, to take it in. To have to respond to that in a sane and calm manner was nearly impossible, but luckily, manageable.

"So I guess that means you two are out of the running for Mr. and Mrs. Wonderful." I replied as I kept my head down.

"And I've been doing a lot of thinking since then." She continued on as if I hadn't said that while I responded as if she hadn't said anything either. "For God's sake Jimmy, I'm talking to you! Can you please look at me?"

Without another word, I looked up at her and, admittedly like a child, crossed my arms, giving her my full attention. Now that I did so, she looked and walked away, probably not ready to deal with it.

Once she managed to face me, it still wasn't enough for her to be able to speak. At least not at first.

"I don't like this, okay? I don't like it at all."

"What, your personal Ken doll dumping you?"

"For two seconds, could you stop acting like all I talk and think about is Liam?"

I could tell now that she was mad, and based on what she said, it really had nothing to do with her relationship ending.

"Sorry." I replied, figuring she at least deserved that. "What are you irritated about?" I had a hunch, although not a big one, as to what it could be about.

"Have you ever wondered why we are the way we are?" She started off nervously which I really only concluded by the fact that she was wringing her hands.

"I don't really understand what that means." Which is very much an honest statement.

"I just mean that...we've had an... eventful history, wouldn't you say?" She was patient in her answer even if it was with a tremulous voice. I cleared my throat, knowing that no matter what I said, I was going to get myself into something messy.

"Do you as of recent or...?"

"No, like, since our childhood.

"I guess so, yeah." That was the most I could do in terms of response without heightening the tension.

"And you've never stopped and thought about why it was like that between us?"

"I've always found myself having more important things to think about so, no, not really."

The look on her face automatically told me that that was not the right thing to say.

"Right, okay." She replied as she turned away to leave.

"Cindy, I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

"But do you get it though? Do you understand why I get so frustrated when you say such bullshit things like that?" Without giving me a chance to reply, she continued. "I'm just...I am so done with this Jimmy. We're freaking adults, for crying out loud!"

"I know that."

"But you don't understand it. You are never going to understand it! And the worst part is that you don't even care! You don't care to find out why we hated each other and fought as kids, and then we drifted apart when we got older as if nothing ever happened. And- and then-."

"Wonder why and under what circumstances it happened to be the two of us that under up wasted and about to have sex at a classmate's house? Or perhaps think about what led us to eventually have sex? Maybe question the series of events that led to now, this moment right here?"

That stunned her, I know, but I also hope it taught her something.

"Don't you dare say I don't care about this relationship, or friendship, or whatever the hell you want to call it. If I don't understand it, don't assume it's because of a lack of trying when all I've ever done is attempt to."

I knew she was paying attention by the way she was looking at me but it didn't mean she was fully taking it in.

"And even when we've tried to go our own way and distance ourselves from each other, it never works." She tiredly pointed out. "Every year, we wind up in the same classes. Every competition, we end up placing. Everywhere we go, someone knows of the other. We have become synonymous with each other Jimmy, and I honestly don't mind it, I really don't but I don't know if I'm supposed to."

This was really getting out of hand.

"Cindy, I-"

"I just know that I am always going to want you in my life Jimmy. But how and under what circumstances, I don't know."

Sensing that she still wasn't done, I waited for her to continue.

"And that's just it, isn't it?" I wasn't sure if she was asking rhetorically, so I stayed quiet. "We're not supposed to be separated. Because for some reason, the universe just seems to want us together." A tear was falling now and she tried to wipe it away as quick as she could. "And that's probably because it knows that when two people have gone through what we've been through, you're bonded for life." She wanted a response this time, I'm sure of it. "Right?" She repeated calmly.

"I suppose." I said with a nod. She looked away from me when I looked up at her. At no point in my life did I want to get inside her head and read what was running through her mind more than at this moment.

"Okay." She sounded like she was trying to gather the right words without breaking down. "I'm going to go now. Don't follow me. Don't try to contact me. I know that you haven't, but please just don't now. I need more time to think." I nodded, not wanting her to go, but knowing she would get mad if I tried to stop her.

Every bone in my body is telling me to go after her. And really, they've been doing so since the moment she landed down here. I still didn't entirely get why she came and I didn't want to see her leave before I got a chance to.

She can't do anything drastic now of course, because of all that's coming up for us in these last few weeks of school. But I sure wouldn't put it against her to plan everything out anyway and hope that she can just leave for school, wherever that's going to be, sooner rather than later.

I don't know what she plans to do once she walks out that door. But more importantly, I don't know what I'm possibly going to do. Cindy plays a tremendous role in my life and without her, I don't know how to keep going. She has been such an influence on me, good and bad, and I don't want to imagine my life without her in it. I can't live if she's not close to me, no matter how far she really is. I want us to be a part of each other's stories, even if we're the only ones around who care enough to experience it. I'll lose a lot without Cindy, that's for sure. I've even lost a lot just being distant from her ever since she went away to Aspen. But I'll get back not just that, but gain a million things more, if she stays right here. With me.

The doors opened in front of her, but thanks to the override option on the lab's universal remote that was lying nearby, they swiftly closed shut. I barely saw the blond wisp of her hair as she turned around when I approached her.

"What are you-?"

The ardent way my lips met hers prevented her from saying another word.

The kiss was firm, but so far, one-sided. While it felt incredible for me, especially after so long, I wanted, I _needed, _her to feel it too.

It took a few more impossibly long seconds for her to respond.

You'd think we'd gone through every battle and suffered every loss imaginable to be reunited like this. I kissed her deeply, like I never wanted to let go. She kissed me boundlessly, like she never wanted it to end.

I hadn't even realized that we were up against the wall by now, the space between us short and practically nonexistent. We pulled away then, flushed, shocked, and unaware of what was going to come.

We were barely able to catch our breath. She clung onto my hair like she was scared I would pull away while I had her pinned to the wall to ensure that she couldn't.

Without giving her a chance to escape, I began leaving open-mouthed kisses down her neck on all the spots I knew she liked and reveled in the sounds of pleasure coming from her lips.

"Neutron..." She moaned.

"You know," I breathed against the hollow of her neck. "I love it when you call me that. It's a huge turn-on."

Surprising us both, she slightly pulled away.

"I've been calling you that since forever."

"I know." I chuckled. She kissed me again and I felt her both of her hands start to unbutton the front of her dress. As she was shrugging out of it, I released her and managed to let out, "You were waiting for this, weren't you?" Then, without any hesitation or signal from her, she pressed her palm against the front of my jeans, feeling my stiff length and muttered.

"Like you aren't."

Our mouths crashed together instantly as I began undoing my jeans. Preparing to lift her, I hoped that she was bracing herself because there was no way I was going to hold back once enough of my clothes were off.

She pulled my lower lip gently with her teeth and in response, I lifted her and she immediately wrapped her legs around my waist while still allowing me to be able to walk us to our familiar couch.

Within seconds, she was straddling me and my arms were above my head as she pulled my shirt off, the brief break in our kiss permitting it to happen. With some more effort we were able to shed the remainder of our clothes and discard them on the floor, leaving nothing but our underwear on.

It reminded me so much of the first time we had undressed ourselves to this extent months ago, during that time when we were desperately waiting for my parents to leave for the weekend. We could very easily have had sex then and based on the sounds Cindy was letting out and the position of her hands, she knew it as well. But we had promised each other to wait it out, no matter how bothersome it became.

Even though that was only a handful of months ago, it's insane to think about how much has happened since then. As a result of everything, I honestly never thought I'd find myself in this position ever again. Like Cindy said, we're adults now and even though that should bring about great changes in our lives, there are some things that, apparently, never really go away.

Before I could even process how it happened, we were both completely naked. The heat and pressure of her resting over me being the only thing keeping me from being inside her.

"I can't wait any longer." I heard her whisper as she lined herself up over me.

"Wait, I need a-."

"It's fine. I'm on the pill." She announced.

"Really?" I breathed, growing more impatient by the second. She nodded, her green eyes dark with lust.

I kissed her before she could explain. When she sank herself down on me, we both groaned at the contact. For the first time ever, I felt her completely bare.

"Fuck, Jimmy." She pulled away long enough to say as her eyes fluttered shut and she let out a heavy breath. Despite that we had been in this position before, at that moment, I saw her in a new way. It wasn't just that she looked sexy as hell on top of me, pouty lips and disheveled hair. She was no longer the girl I was having casual sex with or even the one who's been a pain in my ass ever since I moved here. She's the girl- the woman- that I have always loved and wanted. I want all of her, every bit. And now I finally have her.

I rolled my hips, making sure she felt all of me. She pulled away from another kiss and I noticed how her bottom lip trembled when the friction we created was at its highest.

"Oh..._God_..." Her cheeks were pink and skin was flushed. "Don't stop." She began to rock herself into me, reciprocating. I could feel goosebumps where I held onto her hips. "Don't ever stop."

I moved my hands to her ass and it didn't take long for us to get into our usual rhythm. She went slow at first and grinded her hips against mine whenever they met. Cindy progressively got faster and soon leaned back enough to place her hands on my thighs. At this angle, I got in even deeper and wasn't able to hold back the groans that escaped from my lips. Now that she had better balance, she began riding me faster and the amount of expletives she muttered increased drastically.

Her new position pushed her chest out and as her head tilted back, I stared hungrily at her body, wanting to touch and lick every inch of it. Her breasts bounced rapidly and I wasted no time in sitting up to take one of them in my mouth, teasing her nipple with my tongue.

I wrapped my arm around her waist and we moved as one, the cries she let out being the main indicator that she was enjoying every bit of it. Almost impatiently, one of her hands came up and tugged roughly at my hair and the other kept a strong grip on my shoulder while she continued to impale herself on me.

Wanting to switch things up, I held onto her hips and turned us over so that I was on top, all while remaining inside her.

I felt her legs wrap around my waist, probably hoping she would be able to turn us back to our previous position. Refusing to finish while she was in control, I pulled out and rammed into her.

Admittedly, I was probably a little too rough at first. I slowed down a bit, not wanting to hurt her. We weren't looking at each other but we were close enough that we could hear every sound that came out of our mouths. So it was impossible not to hear her next words.

"Who- ungh... said you could...slow down?" She barely let out. With a chuckle that resonated throughout my body, I went back to how I had been before, sliding in and out, panting into her ear. Her heels pushed into my lower back, trying to bring me as close as possible. That along with the sounds of pleasure she was letting out only motivated me to go harder.

I kept that pace until I heard her short, heavy breaths and felt her nails dig into my shoulders. She was close.

A couple of more thrusts plus some quick strokes to her center did the trick. She pushed her head into the armrest as she came around me.

"Ahh... _fuck_...oh!"

The sound of her climaxing spurred me on more and I moved even faster, waiting for my own release.

"Shit." I twitched inside her and stayed still for a few seconds. While catching my breath, I pulled out and laid next to her. It took a moment for me to be able to speak again and even then, I was practically breathless.

"That was-."

"This was a mistake." She barely finished saying before she reached down and started picking up her clothes.

"What? What do you -?"

"I- I don't want us to be some quickie thing that happens just because we're both here. I...I don't want it like this and I can't believe that I allowed it to..." In her haste, she only put her dress back on and it was the fastest I've ever seen her do so. "I'm sorry for- for wasting your life, I guess. I have to go."

I had never seen anybody or anything walk away that fast.

**Right, so. Feel free to follow me on Twitter if you haven't already done so (at D13Tribute), leave me a review if you're feeling it and want to let me know what you think (because I am DYING and yet so SO NERVOUS to know), either way, I will see you all next time. **

**Coming up: prom.**


	19. Chapter 19

**I am beyond blessed to have you guys as readers. Your thoughts on chapter 18 have been so kind, so generous, and it lifted a huge weight off my shoulders because of how nervous I felt about it. Thank you SO much. Secondly, for those that don't know, I have written an accompanying one-shot outtake to this tale. It's in a lot lighter tone than what's been going on here lately but I am warning you now that it is rated M (which considering the last chapter shouldn't be a bad thing). You can find that over on my profile. **

**And now, here we go. Try to not to be as anxious as I am.**

**Jimmy's POV**

It really is astounding how differently the male and female mind are able to sort their priorities. A prominent example being prom night preparations.

Every year, the prom industry makes millions of dollars in revenue and if the girls in my high school are any representation of it, that's an accurate statistic. It's rare to walk down the hallway at this time of year and not hear anybody speak of the big night. That along with graduation two weeks later seem to be the most popular topics nowadays.

While it's apparent that it's all anybody can think about, its appeal hasn't really had an effect on me.

It should be obvious that Cindy and I haven't communicated since that day down at the lab. With everything going on in the final weeks of the school year, it's actually not as easy as it's always been to try to talk to her. And even if I got the chance to, I have no idea what I would say.

Before that encounter, I of course hoped that we would be able to peacefully reconcile and that we would do so by the end of the school year. After graduation, I knew the days left until either one of us left for college would pass by impossibly fast and each one would be less and less of a chance that we'd ever seen each other like that. Regardless of everything that's happened between us in the last year, I did not want us to end on that bad of a note. I'm sure each one of us had our own selfish and immature reasons for being too proud to be the bigger person which now we obviously see as being a mistake.

Admittedly, I guess the braver one in this situation was Cindy, as she's the one who came down to the lab to see me even if with was with the stupid excuse of asking about the senior project. While that meeting ended quite... unexpectedly, I couldn't help but think about it everyday since.

Being with her again...it's like nothing I've ever felt and I'm sure a good part of it was because of how long I was without her. With how we ended things, I wasn't sure if I ever would get to see her in the way I did then and part of me was hoping that I never would because I don't know how I could have handled it.

I almost told her I loved her.

Almost.

Every second would have been the worst timing imaginable but yet it took every force in my body to not say it. It didn't become any easier once she told me what happened to her and Liam and it was impossible once she was naked over me, muttering my name with the softest of breaths. Even if I had said it, I feel like our encounter would still have ended up the same way or potentially worse.

By the way she left, it was clear that despite her positive reactions to what we had done she didn't think it was a good idea. She left way too quickly enough for me to be able to ask why, leaving me to only draw my own conclusions. It's no secret that Cindy is one complicated individual and that fact alone should answer the question. Still, I can't help but be frustrated and even angry with her for it.

Looking back at all our time knowing each other, I've found that there's so many arguments and petty moments that we could have avoided if we just had a simple conversation about it. Sex aside, the strong friendship we had created since the beginning of the school year has proved that we are are able to be civil towards each other and, for the most part, come to an understanding, even if that doesn't always mean an agreement. Even though strained would be an understatement for how to best describe our relationship in recent months, it hardly counts as an excuse for her to, as always, do whatever she wants. Given that what we did was far more serious than any fight, she should know by now that communication is always our best option, no matter what.

She broke that unspoken rule and with every day that passes without her apologizing or offering an explanation, she continues to break it. And while I'm on the topic of rule breaking, I've come to realize what a complete waste making those stupid rules at the beginning of all this was. Together we ending up breaking every single one all leading up to this tremulous...whatever you want to call it thing that we have going on now. Here we are, two weeks from graduation, hours away from having to endure the other's company at prom, and years with having a rocky, complicated, and, at most times, intolerable relationship. If I didn't love her as much as I do, I'd say all the irritation I have built up towards her over the years would be enough to do whatever it takes to get away from her and all of her drama once and for all. Needless to say, I cannot wait for the school year to be finally over so that I no longer have to be obligated to share the same space as the unbearable Cindy Vortex.

In an attempt to be more optimistic and invested about all the events coming up in my life, I decided it would be best to indulge myself in the best way that I can. More notably, it would, at the very least, strengthen any attempt to get over Cindy.

I figured the most logical way to start would be by getting a prom date as that was the event that was coming up the soonest. Despite that it didn't take me very long to think of who it could be, once I realized it, I felt silly that I didn't immediately think of it.

As my parents stood with me at the bottom of the stairs, waiting for my date to arrive, my mom was straightening and fixing my bowtie.

"Oh, Jimmy. You look so handsome." She said as her eyes lit up.

"Thanks mom." I replied with a grin of my own.

"So what time is the lucky girl coming?" Dad asked, just as curious as I was.

"Any second now, I'm sure. I told her to meet me here at-."

And with the perfect timing that I would expect from her, the doorbell rang. As my mom reached for the camera and my dad moved to the side to let me through, I opened the door to reveal the person who would be accompanying me this evening.

"You know, I'm still very surprised you asked me. But seeing the stress-fest that my life has been in the past few months I really do appreciate it."

"Hi Annie." I smiled.

Now there really are a few reasons why I thought it was the best idea to ask Annie to my prom, and I can gladly say that none of them have to do with Cindy.

If I had originally planned to get a prom date, I wouldn't have wanted her thinking that it's a much bigger deal than it actually is. Just like for the _Discover _magazine banquet, Annie fit that description perfectly as she's one of the few girls I knew that would. Her being one of my closest friends for years was definitely a good quality as well. More importantly, apart from the seemingly selfish reasons, is that I know she's had a much crazier school year than I have. So much that she kept putting off her interview for her volunteer trip this summer that it ultimately ended up happening on her prom night and therefore making her skip it. Not wanting her to miss out on that experience, I figured it's the least I could do.

"You look beautiful Annie honey."

"Thank you Mrs. Neutron." After a quick embrace, she turned to my dad.

"And did you ever get around to trying those pie recipes I sent over Mr. Neutron?"

"I did and I am happy to announce that the banana walnut's my favorite."

"It's funny you say that since it is a family recipe but for you, I just had to make an exception." We all laughed and smiled before continuing the conversation.

I guess you could also say that Annie, having already met my parents, would make this whole pre-prom encounter far less awkward. My parents have known her for as long as I have and her well-mannered, polite, and respectful personality every time she's around has led them to develop a total admiration for her. Not that I can really blame them since based on everything I've been exposed to about her in all these years, Annie really is amazing.

"I think the limo will be here soon and I know you wanted to take photos mom so..."

"Yes, of course. Okay, get together you two."

After about another ten minutes and ten thousand photos, I was insanely relieved to hear the honk of the limo from outside. After saying our goodbyes and my parents' wishing that we have fun, we walked out the front door and saw a well dressed man hold open the door of a long white stretch limo. Even from outside I could hear the laughter and sounds of excitement coming from its occupants which are as of now, as far as I know, are only Sheen, Libby, Carl, and his own prom date, another member of our senior class.

"Jimmy! Annie! Hey!" Despite that I didn't tell anyone that Annie was going to be my prom date, Libby was doing quite a spectacular job of hiding her surprise as it neither showed in her tone of voice or her face. "We're good, thank you." Libby confirmed to the driver before he closed the door.

"Aren't we going to wait for Cindy?" Annie, knowing that Cindy lives across the street from me, was smart enough to figure out that she should be joining us on the ride to the prom any second now. Since she has yet to appear, I was glad Annie brought it up, especially because it was a concern for me too.

"She's actually not coming." Libby announced uncertainly, probably because she was unsure about how I would react. "Well, she is going to prom and all. She just isn't riding there with us. Her uh- her dad is dropping her off." She clearly noticed how quiet it got and became less uncertain about how she was going to make her announcement by the second. Oddly enough though, based on the lack of reaction on everyone's face but mine and Annie, it seemed that everyone knew about this beforehand.

Luckily the awkwardness died out soon enough that the ride there wasn't uncomfortable and we all instead just talked about the frightening nature of it being the least two weeks of school, what our plans are after graduation, and we all also took the chance to catch up with Annie. Seeing as I hadn't seen her in months and everyone hasn't seen her in much longer than that, it seemed like the best of ideas.

Despite that the catching up with Annie part was working both ways, I was extremely thankful that Carl, Libby, and Sheen did not in any way refer what had gone on between Cindy and I in the last few months. Apart from it being my business, it could have very easily gone into that territory especially since we didn't have Cindy's presence here to remind them to avoid that topic entirely. Even though Annie and I are close, I've never said anything about it to her even when we went to that banquet together. During the time Cindy and I were hooking up, she was never around to see how we interacted so there's really no way she could have any suspicion. And even if she did, she's never mentioned it.

Since we were so invested in our conversations, we didn't even realize that we had arrived until the car came to a complete stop. The prom was located at a really nice venue just outside of town and its appearance definitely impressed us all. Despite giving Libby such a hard time about tonight, the prom committee (by which I mostly mean Libby) did an amazing job.

We lined up to take photos in that predictable, cliche way and it didn't take much longer for us to be able to look for our place cards. They were listed alphabetically and so they were not hard to find. So it was also easy to find that Cindy's was still there, meaning that she has yet to arrive and more importantly, that she would be seated at our table.

It isn't really a surprise since it's only natural that the five of us, with or without dates, would want to sit together. But given all the recent tension between the her and I, along with the fact that she didn't even want to ride over with us, her changing her seating arrangement wouldn't shock me very much. I suppose that, given how far in advance these type of things need to be finalized, it was too late for her to ask for a change or there probably wasn't any other space available at another table.

Not wanting to think about it much longer and hold up the line behind me, I briskly picked up my place card and walked away from the table.

"Jimmy, come on." I saw Annie waving me over from where she stood, right at the entrance to the hall.

* * *

**Cindy's POV**

Unlike nearly every girl my age, I don't make a big deal out of prom. I looked forward to buying the dress, looking nice, and the actual night of course, but overall, I wasn't nearly as crazy about it as most of my female peers.

However, I could not have imagined it going like this.

Dateless, having my dad be my driver, and just feeling a tremendous, uncomfortable mass rolling all around my body.

I should have stayed home, and honestly, that would have been a better idea. But it didn't really seem worth it when I thought about all I would have to say to make my absence validated. It was hard enough convincing my parents to have my dad take me instead. I didn't tell them the truth, of course. That since I was unable to change my seating arrangement at prom, my alternative was to not ride in the limo with my friends because that would just add to the amount of time Jimmy and I would be uncomfortably enclosed in the same space. Even if we were with other people, that's not something I could handle, especially not after that day.

I had no intention of what happened then to happen. I didn't go down to the lab with that agenda. Sure, I didn't really know what the agenda was. I had hoped to resolve our issue as I always try to do and figured I would just make it up as it went along. Really, it is his fault for kissing me first but that didn't go entirely unprovoked. I went down there first, something I hadn't done in months. Then I told him about Liam in a way that made it sound like I intended to hide it from him. But that's not true, because I wanted him to know. He had to know.

He was naturally his rude and arrogant self as soon as he found out, which I partially expected. I failed in getting him to think about us, our past. And I only failed because he apparently had been doing it already, likely for longer than I could have ever thought.

Whatever could have or was meant to happen that day didn't. Me running off after we had some of the best sex we've ever had was proof.

If I were allowed to only use one example to describe the phrase "heat of the moment", it would have been that. Even if I ran off immediately after, it doesn't mean I regret it. I want to be with Jimmy more than anything, but I didn't feel like that was the way to express it. It was reckless and obvious that I let my emotions get the better of me.

I very much meant what I said though, even if it was horribly explained. I don't want our relationship to be just random, meaningless hook-ups whenever it's convenient. We're better than that. We're more than that. We stopped kidding ourselves about what our relationship really is and means a while ago and it's long overdue that we explore that. What happened last time we saw each other certainly wasn't the way to go about it even if I've done nothing but think about it since.

That time felt so raw and real. Nothing was held back and I mean that quite literally as it was the first time we had been together without our usual form of protection.

I went on the pill in January, very early into my relationship with Liam. Despite me not wanting to be on it before for various reasons, I figured -especially with actually being in a relationship- that it was the responsible thing to do. Ideally, it would have been to be prepared in case anything ever happened with Liam and there was, for whatever reason, no protection. Being that I was of age at that time I started taking it, I didn't have to have my mom take me to the doctor or even tell her about it at all, which was one less hurdle to get through.

After Liam and I broke up, I kept taking it to keep the habit and so that it would keep my system as regulated as possible. If anything, I would have used it for its more well-known purpose and ultimately, that's exactly what happened. Needless to say, I'm quite glad I made the decision to go on it.

"Okay, here we are."

My dad called out once he put the car in park. Him hitting the breaks took me out of my thoughts and I turned to face him.

"Thanks." I plastered a smile onto my face. "You can come get me a little before midnight. I'm sure they'll be some traffic around here with everyone's rides and all."

"Sure. You have fun, okay? You look beautiful." I looked down at my lap covered in the midnight blue chiffon of my dress and once more to my father.

"Thank you daddy." I leaned over to kiss his cheek. "I'll see you soon." As I stepped out of the car and walked to the building, it was easy to notice that lack of vehicles around me, very likely meaning that everyone had already arrived. I was happy about that since it meant there was very little chance of me bumping into anybody and having to say hello along with a compliment on how they look tonight. All I wanted was to find my table and sit down.

I found my place card quickly enough and it confirmed that I was not the final person to arrive but definitely one of the last ones. It was also easy to find my table and a big part of that was Libby's arm in the air, waving me over. Approaching her, I noticed that she got up from her own chair besides Sheen and walked to meet me in the middle.

"You look amazing!" She was able to let out right before enveloping me in a hug, which I gladly reciprocated. One of the only reasons I'm going to be able to get through tonight was her and I'm sure part of her knows it. Libby doesn't know about Jimmy and mine's latest encounter but she is aware of the even greater strain we seem to have developed. Once again proving her status as the greatest friend ever, she hasn't pressured me into saying anything despite her seeing my changes in mood and behavior. Her attempts to keep me distracted, especially considering everything I have going on, have been noticed and completely appreciated.

"Thank you but not as much as you. You are _killing _it in that dress Libs." Ultimately, she ended up choosing a long forest green strapless dress with a sweetheart neckline and a dangerously high slit on her left leg. It's not nearly as extravagant and daring as my own floor length, midnight blue chiffon piece, but Libby's always been the more stylish one of the two anyway.

"I sure as hell hope so. It took us long enough to find it." We both laughed as we remembered the plentiful shopping trips it took. "Come on, let's go sit down." For the next few minutes, I hung out with Libby and Sheen at the table. When I asked why they weren't sharing the dance floor with the rest of our classmates, Libby let me know that she wanted to wait until she made sure I arrived before she went off to have fun. With a knowing look exchanged between the two of us, it answered everything I had in retaliation. Some time had passed when I noticed a new presence at our table.

"Cindy? Hi!"

I wasn't really surprised that someone would come up to say hello. Seeing as I arrived late and didn't see anybody when I did come in, it only made sense. But I could never be prepared for who it actually was.

"Annie." I stated, not as a question but not entirely as a greeting either. I addressed her curiously, wondering what she's even doing here even though there were very few possibilities to what the answer could be. "Umm." Then, as if the beings above were answering my inquiries as well as crushing my spirits, Jimmy came up to join us as well. I shot him a look faster than the speed of any one of his inventions and in that time, the dots connected in my head. "Hi," I spoke to her and only her. "This is a nice surprise. It's good to see you."

Under any other circumstance on any other day, my reaction to seeing her would be very different. I probably would have snuck her a dirty look, rolled my eyes because I failed in fighting the urge to, and not get through a single sentence without using sarcasm.

So as of now I was doing tremendously well.

"You as well. You look stunning! How have you been?" There's no way she forwent her eternal politeness since the last time we saw each other, so I'm left to assume the reason she hasn't asked if she could take a seat next to me is because she's sitting at this table too.

"Annie, I'm going to go get you that punch." Jimmy said before I could reply.

"Yes, thank you." She glanced at him and nodded before turning back to me and giving me all her attention.

"I'm doing well, I guess. Happy the school year's wrapping up and that graduation is so soon, you know?" And at this moment, I could not have been more thankful for either one of those.

Not wanting to focus on me and my feelings any longer, I turned the conversation towards her which may or may not have been a good idea.

"So um, Algeria this summer right?"

"Kenya, actually. I wanted to Bali but the nicer, tropical places are always harder to get since everyone wants to go to them. It's actually part of the reason why I'm here tonight. I kept pushing back my interview for the volunteer trip because I was so busy that the only day left was on my prom night. So Jimmy was sweet enough to ask me to come tonight once he heard about it."

I just had to ask.

"Yeah, that was...really nice of him." Not entirely sure what was going on with my internal discomfort, I decided to excuse myself before it made matters worse. "I'll be right back. I have to use the restroom."

Despite never having been to this venue before I found the bathroom pretty quickly and felt even better to see how empty it was. Not being able to reach a stall, I instead leaned against the sinks and took slow and steady breaths.

God, I can't believe he did this. I believe Annie's story, since it seems too fabricated to be made up, but he sure as hell did jump at the chance when he realized there would be ulterior motives.

Tonight could have been it. And really, in a way, it is. This is the last time we'll be, somewhat forced to spend time together before we get our diplomas and, perhaps, if we wanted to, never see each other again. I did not come here with any sort of agenda, but that doesn't mean I'm happy with how things turned out.

"I didn't know she was coming until she was in the limo with us." I heard Libby from only a few feet away. "If I had I would have texted you, warned you or something." I'm over trying to hide something from her that she would be able to see right through anyway, since this always happens. And since this itself is new, I wasn't sure to react which meant to Libby must have taken my silence as anger. "What do you want me to say Cindy? I was just as surprised-"

"I'm not mad at you Libby. I'm not. It's just... I don't know how to express what I feel, and there's a part of me that still, after so much, doesn't even know what that feeling is. And it- it just seems a little too late now."

I don't even know how I was able to get through that without my eyes welling up.

At that, Libby stepped closer.

"I know it seems that way. But you two have always been able to make time feel like it was the longest thing in the world, probably because of how much everyone else had to put up with it." The slightest twitch of my lips clearly stated that I didn't mind if she kept going. "There's always going to be time. Otherwise, you'll just have to make it." A sigh and a smile showed my absorption of what she was saying. "I'll be out there whenever you're ready to come out. But please don't stay here all night."

"I won't." I said with a laugh.

There will be time, yes. And as Libby said, there's always going to be. The thing about that it that we've wasted so much of it already. Jimmy and I have known each other for years and it took us a few of those for us to get to the point where we can tolerate being in the same room. After that night before school started, it only took us a couple of months to be physically intimate, and then only weeks for everything that we had built at that point to come crumbling down on us and it's been that way ever since. That is not how it should be any longer.

We've worked too hard and come too far to let it end like this.

Since I had a feeling he would be at our table, I headed there first. Instead, however, I spotted him and Annie much sooner, slow dancing only feet from where I was standing. With all the courage I could muster, I walked up to them.

"Annie?" I said once I finally reached them. She turned to look at me and even though I gave a nervous smile, I spoke confidently. "Do you mind if I cut in?"

"No. Not at all." She said without a trace of anger or sounding upset, and I knew that she truly didn't mind. "I'll just be at the table." She said to Jimmy, who nodded in return.

Although I did have a fear that he would reject me dancing with him, he didn't. When he put his hand on my waist and the other in my hand, it became, at least, civil with us again. So I took the chance.

"You look really nice Jimmy." I began, and it wasn't until then then that he made eye contact.

"Thank you." He quickly replied but seemingly without meaning. Wanting this to move along but not angry, I spoke again.

"I need to talk to you but I want to know how much longer you're going to keep acting like this?"

"Like what?" He snapped. "Reasonable?"

"Rea-? You brought another girl, who doesn't even go to this school, to our senior prom to make me mad."

"I should have known you'd think this was about you." He said with a humorless chuckle.

"As opposed to what else?"

"Anything. I hate to break it to you, but not everything is about you, Vortex." He looked like he was about to pull away, but I prevented that by gripping onto his hand.

"But it is about us." I stared into the sapphire of his eyes, hoping that he understood.

"What does that mean?" He asked even though we both knew exactly what I meant.

"You know what."

"Don't. Don't do that." He shook his head. "I don't know if this is just you being stubborn or arrogant or that thing you do when you pretend you're smarter than me, but it's not going to work. Not this time. If you have something you want to tell me, say it. Or else I won't ever know."

I stared at him with a look in my eyes that I had never given anyone before and I don't think I ever will again. As big a show as I like to talk, I found that I could not, for anything, put the expression on my face and feelings in my body into words and say it to the one person that deserved to hear it the most.

"I-." I couldn't. I really, truly couldn't in every sense of the word. Looking into his eyes didn't give anything away from him. If he knew what I was going to say, he didn't show it. Nor was he motivating me to say anything.

It was now that I noticed we had stopped moving. It must have been him who caused it because I was mindlessly swaying since the beginning.

He and I both seemed to realize that I wasn't going to say anything at the same time for he released my hand and dropped the other from my waist. With a curt nod in which he told me he understood everything, he spoke.

"Have a good night, Cindy." He turned and walked in the other direction.

Even though I knew he was only walking towards the table and not out of my life, there was a huge sense that he may symbolically be doing just that.

I turned in the direction he had walked and exhaled a breath as if that simple turn had exhausted me.

In that second, there was no one else but us. Jimmy and I were the only people on the planet. But even if it wasn't actually like that, no one else mattered. I didn't care about anyone except for the man standing too far to touch but never far enough to hold close. The man who deserved to hear the one thing he's waited years for me to say.

So without waiting another second, making sure I was saying it loud enough for him to hear, I opened my mouth and said exactly that.

"I love you!"

The problem with me saying that is that we weren't, in fact, the only two people on the planet. I wasn't living in some fantasy world, if even for a second. We were standing here, along with our peers and teachers, on the supposedly most important and memorable night of our high school lives. We and everyone else around us was dressed to the nines and I had just made an extremely intimate announcement in such a public setting.

That was the last thought I had before I ran out of the building.

**So I have some good news and bad news. It may be a little obvious to some but this story is in fact coming to an end. In fact, there are only two more chapters left. I really didn't know how to tell you guys even though I definitely wanted to give you all a heads up so I don't just spring it on you. The good news (and if you follow me on Twitter you already know this) is that I WILL be writing a SEQUEL. I'm very excited about that and I hope you guys are too. For more info and to stay updated, be sure to follow me on Twitter (D13Tribute) and by the way, I do follow back. I REALLY cannot wait to see what you guys think of this chapter as usual so review if you can! Love you all and thanks again!**


	20. Chapter 20

**Let's do this. **

**Jimmy's POV**

Over the years, there have been many times where I have come close to telling Cindy how I feel about her.

But I've never gotten anywhere near as close as to what she did in the middle of the dance floor, in front of all our classmates, on prom night.

I could feel my friends' gazes on me from a few feet away, the shock on their faces the same as what I felt inside. I could sense everyone else looking at me as well at the same time I faintly heard the sound of Cindy's heels as she likely ran away.

Despite how I felt about everything, all the goods and bads, I knew what I had to do.

Even though I didn't know exactly what that was or where she was even going, I chased after her.

"_Jimmy, why do you think we always fight back home?" _

_It's been a few days since she asked me that and now after spending all of them together, the only response I can give is simply asking it back to her._

_Of course, we didn't really have much other choice in terms of activities, being stuck here on this island and all._

_She's always been jealous of my intellect, that much I can tell. She's not the first person I've met that has though, which raises the questions of why I'm always fighting back. I don't like people challenging me, that's all, and no one does it better than her. Naturally, I have to defend myself and that just leads to our squabbles. Like this one, for example. All caused because Vortex moronically thought one can indeed see the equator._

_It hasn't been very long and we've already distinguished which parts of the jungle to stay out of, how to obtain food and water, and have created a shelter. Neither one of us have really mentioned the ominous yet realistic possibility that we could be here for a while, even though I know she's smart enough to have figured it out by now._

_It's hasn't been terrible though, and it could be a lot worse._

_There could be worse people to be stuck here with and I've gotten to notice that in the time we've been here._

_Cindy really isn't...that bad._

_She's funny and works hard and is definitely a team player._

_Since there's nothing really here to destroy or change with my cleverness and inventions (and obviously, there are no inventions), she hasn't complained or insulted me at all. And with us really working hard to ensure our own survival, I've gotten to see a complete new side to her. A side that, I really like a lot. And if we're ever lucky enough to get home, it's a side I'd like to see more of._

_All of this occurred to me as I sat on a boulder and looked around at the over ten dozen opened and empty mollusks. Weary, and near the point of giving up, I pulled open yet another one._

_I smiled upon seeing the shiny and sleek object embedded in this one._

* * *

_She's just distracting me is all. That doesn't mean that I like her. With all the trouble she's caused on this trip and even while preparing for it, how could I not notice her?_

_I could have easily found that Mars based energy source without her help. And if she hadn't been so pushy, she wouldn't even have to come with us to get it. Now that we're on our way home, looking back on it, I suppose it wasn't so bad that she joined us._

_Her contributions DID end up being helpful and also wouldn't have been executed without her presence. That's not to mean that she completely drew my attention away from the task at hand since she only distracted me just a little._

_Of course, that spacesuit and her make-up certainly had something to do with it. I don't understand why she insisted on looking so unlike herself lately. She's fine the way she is. I mean, you know, not that I've paid too much attention to it or anything._

_But if I had then I would say that she really doesn't need all of that. It's not like it's going to change anything other than her appearance. She's still going to be her smart, headstrong, intuitive self. And if I HAD to notice her in a certain way, I'd rather it be like that._

_If anything, I guess this did give me an idea of how Cindy may be in the future. I just hope that no matter how tight she wears her clothes or how much makeup she plops onto her eyes, that she stays the same. She's definitely one of the most differently unique people I've met and I would hate for a simple case of teenage conformity to be the cause for her eventual downfall. Because if I'm ever going to beat her in this ongoing competition we've got going on, I really do need her to be in her best shape possible._

_But for now, as we're still learning about each other and still trying to outsmart the other in our perspective accomplished academia, it doesn't really mean much that Cindy is a distraction._

_As we get older though, I still cannot think too much of it, for my own sake._

_And when it comes to the long-term effects, I cannot and will not let her distract me._

* * *

"_I don't have to explain myself to you Vortex. It's bad enough that you-."_

"_Oh, that is so cool! So it just runs on water?"_

_Without another word, I left Cindy's twitched lip and crossed arms and turned to face the voice I heard speaking. It belonged to a girl who looked to be our age with long black hair pinned back with a clip._

"_Uhh yeah. You just pour the water into this tube and it'll run into this container and then turn into an electrolyte. All that energy goes into this outlet," I gestured to it, "in which you can plug in pretty much anything and it'll work. Pretty cool, huh?"_

"_Yeah! How did you even think of it? It's so useful."_

"_My mom was just cleaning up around the house one day and I noticed how much electric current she was using. So I wanted to see if there was some way I could replicate it."_

"_Oh, that's awesome." The mysterious girl whispered under her breath. "Sorry, that was so rude. Hi, I'm Annie. I have a project here too but not nearly as impressive as this." She looked at mine again in admiration,_

"_Thanks. I'm Jimmy, and this here is Goddard." I replied, petting my companion._

"_I'm Cindy." And I realized at that moment I completely forgot she was even there._

"_Oh, hi. It's nice to meet you both." From my angle I could tell that Cindy's smile wasn't as sincere and as pleased to be meeting someone new as Annie's was. _

_I'm not exactly sure if Annie could tell there was some kind of tension or awkwardness, but it sure seemed like it. _

"_Well, I'll see you guys around. I should go and get back to my project."_

"_Okay, yeah. Cool." I replied. With a grin, she waved and walked away._

"_And what was that all about?" Cindy snapped._

"_What? She seems friendly."_

"_Not her, Nerdtron. You!"_

"_What about me?"_

"_You really couldn't have been anymore...inviting?"_

"_I really don't understand what that's supposed to mean."_

"_And we were in the middle of a conversation, I mean, how rude." _

"_I wouldn't really define a conversation as you insulting me and then me having to defend myself."_

"_Forget it, Neutron. I have to go back to my table." Arrogantly as usual, she walked away._

_She's so irritating lately, that it's more insufferable than before. I really hope this attitude isn't something that's going to get worse before it gets better because I don't know how much longer I'll be able to deal with it. That girl is smart as a whip, sharp, and I know that thick black layer isn't the only thing her heart consists of. Why that's all that ever appears when she's with me, I'll probably never know._

_It was nice to meet Annie and I refuse to believe otherwise. She already gave off a great first impression which is more than I can say for when I first met Cindy. She seems really interested in science, at least enough so to participate in a science fair. And she, unlike Cindy, listens to when I speak and try to explain myself. I really hope this isn't the last we see of each other._

_It's cool to meet someone like myself and that values me as a scientist for a change. The fact that she's a girl just makes it a lot better._

* * *

"_So you two are like, dating now?"_

_With a smile, Libby replied. "Yeah. Yes. And Cindy, you know I'm sorry I didn't tell you when we were on the phone last night, but Sheen and I really wanted to tell the three of you together. Plus, I didn't think you'd like it if I didn't tell you in person."_

"_Yeah, sure. Whatever." The bell rang shortly after that, signaling the end of lunch period. We all got up and cleared our table before walking away, Libby and Sheen already taking a noticeable lead. _

_Despite being so enamored with each other, they still remembered to stop at their lockers to get their books before their next class. It might have also helped that they were only a few lockers away from each other anyway._

"_I have to go study for French. I'll catch you later." Carl announced. After saying our good-byes, Cindy turned to face Libby._

"_So do you still need me to go with you to the mall this weekend? That store just got those jeans you were asking about, right?"_

"_Yeah, they should have them by now. But you don't have to if you don't want to. Sheen said he'll come with me."_

"_No, no I do! I'm pretty free this weekend." She said almost frantically._

"_Cindy, it's fine. Don't worry about it. Maybe next time though okay?" Libby replied right as Sheen's hand slid into hers._

_Noticing it as well, she answered: "Yeah, okay. Just text me if you wanted to hang out or do something else."_

"_Of course. We'll see you guys later." Libby spoke for the two of them as they turned and headed down the hallway to their shared class, leaving Cindy and I there._

"_Well, that was going to happen sooner or later." She said with the slightest hint of bitterness._

"_You can't say you're mad about it. She's really happy."_

"_I'm not saying she isn't, but she's got a lot on her plate. School, extracurriculars, her part-time job... I just don't think it's best for her to be so focused on a boy right now." There was so much in her words that only someone who has known her as long as I have could understand. I knew better, however, than to mention any of that. So instead, I just teased her a bit._

"_You never know, you could be next."_

"_Please." She scoffed. "The very idea of me even looking twice at any of the boys in this school is appalling."_

"_I didn't say it had to be any of these neanderthals Vortex."_

"_Well, what does that mean?" She asked without thinking even though it couldn't be more simple. Without realizing that I had done it, I smiled at her._

"_Figure it out." I said as I turned and walked off before my face could reveal anything else. "I'll see you around."_

_I heard her familiar hum of approval before she was out of earshot._

After few but desperate minutes of searching, I finally found her sitting, embraced into herself, on a small bench at the end of the stone, man-made path that I was standing on.

"Cindy." I spoke as I quietly approached her.

"Shit." I heard her mumble. If she had been crying, I couldn't tell because her hand was all over her face trying to get rid of any evidence.

"Cindy." I repeated, hoping I could get her to face me even though I knew there was a much higher chance that she actually wouldn't.

"Go away." I was surprised by how calm she sounded.

"I'm not leaving until you talk to me."

"Then you'll be out here for a very long time." She replied. I shrugged, even though she couldn't see it and sat at the bench since I knew it would indeed be a while.

She said it, but if she can't talk about it, then she doesn't mean it. What she did in there was both brave and stupid which is the reason she's out here now, avoiding everyone, and not spending our prom night as we should be: two people in love enjoying one of the best nights of our lives.

I knew there was no way that she would confront me herself, leaving me to do the hard part. Something that I should have done months, maybe even years ago.

"Cindy." I tried again.

"What?" Her voice was quiet and sad. I wasn't entirely sure if she was ready to talk but I knew that it was too late to back out.

"I love you too."

Finally, she faced me. She didn't look surprised. Instead, she looked expressionless and stared at me like she was trying to figure something out.

"No, you don't."

"Yes, I do." I had no idea how else I was supposed to reply to that.

"No, you don't, because if you did, you- you would have found a way to- to get around all this. All this stuff, all these _years!_" She paused a bit although I'm not sure if I was supposed to have said anything. "If you really loved me, we could have had so much. Just like we could have avoided so much. If you loved me, you wouldn't have let any of this happen."

What. The. Hell?

"Do you really think this is my fault? Because I'm not the one that told you to tell everyone in there how you feel about me."

"Yes, this is your fault! Because all this, this whole thing was your idea!" She quickly stood up and faced me and despite that she did so confidently, there was no way to ignore her shaky hands and puffy eyes. "_You _are the one that casually wanted to see each other. 'Nothing serious' I think were your exact words. Well, that sure wasn't accurate, was it?"

I looked away, confirming what she just said.

"That whole time, all of that, it was so much for me." She continued. "Everything just happened so quickly. You did that. You made me feel things I've never felt, even though it took so long for me so figure it out. I love you." I could almost see how physically difficult it was for her to say. "So much. There was no way I could have controlled it, so it just happened." She was unable to say anything else after that since her tears had taken over.

This of course, meant that I had to say something. Especially after all that.

"I never imagined this would go the way it did either Cindy. You can't possibly think I planned that. This was not some big quest where I would try to figure out how I felt about you. I love you Cin. And to be honest, maybe I did before all this. So if the only good thing that came out of all this was that realization, then I really don't regret any of it."

She gently wiped a tear away from her eye and I could tell she was trying not to ruin her makeup anymore than it already had been.

"I just feel like," she began, "we've wasted so much time. And _effort._"

"Yeah." I nodded. "And on all the wrong things."

This time, she nodded and seemed to visibly calm down.

"How-when did you know? That you...loved me?" She asked, sounding unable to believe it.

My lips twitched in a halfway smile, so happy to finally be talking about it.

"The day you left for Aspen. After we...were together. I don't think that was the moment I fell in love with you because I knew what I felt then was something I'd felt so many times before. But something about that time just hit me like a truck of realization. And I knew that you were the reason for it."

Her eyes widened in shock of finally hearing the story.

"And what about you?" I asked.

She inhaled a breath before speaking and I completely understood why she did.

"Believe it or not, Liam sort of helped me with that."

"Oh?"

"If you hadn't been so irritating, I would have told you that the reason he broke up with me." She mumbled more to herself than me, even though I could still make out what she said. "He said that there was somebody else, but on my side. That if I wasn't able to see it then, that I would soon. And also that- maybe- the feelings I had towards this person were much stronger than what I had for him, maybe even greater than I could have thought."

She said all this while staring into my eyes and she and I both knew that if she hadn't done what she did tonight, there's a very slim chance she would have ever told me this.

"I guess he's not a complete moron." I finally managed to say. She laughed in retaliation and I was glad to see she could still find humor in all this tension.

"He really isn't, you know." Ignoring that last part, since I really couldn't care less, I brushed a piece of stray hair from her face.

"Have you told you how beautiful you look tonight?"

We were so close that I heard her breath catch.

"No." She let out. "It must have slipped your mind."

With the smallest of smiles, hopeful that everything would be okay, I could barely whisper what I said next.

"How silly of me."

Those were the final words I spoke before closing the gap that stood between us.

She could have spelled out in the sky how much she loved me but no proof would be greater than the way she kissed me. We've never kissed this way, I'm sure of it, whether it was before or after I realized my feelings for her. All I wanted was for us to be reunited like this. No matter how amazing the last time we were together was, prior to her running out of course, nothing can beat this moment right here.

Cindy and I, as shown by our passion, have always had a relationship built on emotions, everything we've ever gone through together since the day we met being the confirmation. I refuse to allow anything to change that for the worse.

That being said, I didn't realize how much I didn't want our kiss to end until it did.

"See, you can't just kiss me like that and expect me not to completely fall for you. Do you have any idea what that does to me?" Cindy spoke.

"I don't really see how I ever could have." Which was really a polite way of saying that it would have been really hard to draw that conclusion with her recent attitude.

"Well, it-it does a lot. It's too much for me to handle sometimes."

"I'm sorry." I abruptly said, knowing it was long overdue. "For all that. For everything."

"It's okay." She replied instantly, as if she has been meaning to say it, or at least I hope so. "At least now I know there was some reasoning behind it. That it wasn't just an impulsive overreaction. Even though really, I'm part to blame too because if I hadn't-."

"No, you didn't do anything wrong."

"I did! I-I always ignored the signs and-and the moments. I could never do anything about it! And then Liam came along and he was so nice and sweet and he just completely blinded me from everything else and..." She stopped and took a breath, which was needed since she said all that at once. "We screwed up, didn't we? So much." She ended with a bite of her lip, which only slightly assisted in stopping how much her body was shaking.

"Yeah." I nodded in agreement, leading up to a consensual yet uncomfortable silence. "But, now that we've acknowledged it, it doesn't mean we have to keep doing it."

"Wha-what do you mean by that?"

"I don't know what's going to happen with us, to us, once we graduate. After that, it's entirely up to us if we continue to be a part of the other's lives. And I don't know about you Cindy, but I made up my mind a while ago that I do not want to live my life without you in it."

Due to how close we were, I could feel breath rush out of her body.

"We've-we've wasted so much time." She was finally able to reply. "And I honestly don't think I'll ever forgive myself if I allow another second to pass." She smiled at me then and despite the tear marks on her face, I thought it was her most beautiful one.

"So," I continued slowly knowing that I was about to say could potentially change everything. "I suppose now that we've cleared most of that up, it's time to move forward."

Wearing her half-smirk that I love, she answered. "And what exactly did you have in mind?" She asked, even though I knew she knew just what I meant.

"I suggest a relationship. You and I. An official," I reached for her hand and laced her fingers with my own. "Real, boyfriend-girlfriend type of matter."

"There's nothing I would love more." She replied quietly enough for me to hear her.

"So that's a yes?"

"It'd be unfortunate if I said no after all this, wouldn't it?" She said with a light laugh.

"Yeah, that would really suck."

She kissed me once more and with her hand on my shoulder, I brought her closer, completing our embrace.

This time when our lips touched, everything was different.

It wasn't some kiss taken on a drunken dare nor one after we had way too much to drink and figured we wouldn't remember it anyway. It wasn't even some experimental kiss, to see how we would like it, the way children do and unforgettably the way we did when we started this abnormal relationship. It wasn't a kiss in which we were holding our urges back due to lack of fear that the other would not be in agreement. It also wasn't even a kiss that would end in us tearing our clothes off, craving as much of the other as humanly possible.

This was a kiss that, although I've technically unknowingly had it so many times, was shared with two people who are madly in love and who have waited so long for this.

After breaking apart, a little more breathless than after the last one, Cindy spoke once more.

"You." She whispered in the most self-assured way. "Always you."

Instead of answering, I ran my fingers along her cheek, knowing it would say everything I intended to.

"I really don't want to go back inside." She admitted, realizing as well that this perfect moment couldn't last forever.

"I don't think we have much of a choice. But look at it like this. All that is going to end in a couple of hours. But this here, us, will keep on going for as long as we like."

She squeezed my hand and I knew that she had understood what I said.

"That sounds good enough for me."

With a final smile at each other, we turned back and headed inside, hands entwined together.

I'm sure she felt the same unease I did about going back inside to face everyone. At the time of our departure, all their attention was placed on us after all. So there's a good chance it will be the same for when we return. I was both happy and surprised to see, however, that it was not. In fact, while we were entering the room with a whole new development on our relationship, it was apparent that no one seemed to notice as everyone was enveloped in prom festivities.

"Oh my God!" Cindy exclaimed from beside me as we approached our table. It only took me a few short seconds to see what she was referring to. "Libby, you won!"

"I know! Can you believe it?" Without another word, Cindy released my hand and ran to hug her best friend as well as this year's prom queen. Even with the huge progress that has been made for Cindy and I, it seemed that the same was going on inside as well. Upon seeing Shen, however, that didn't seem to be the case.

"You okay?" I said as I approached him.

"I'm great. But not as good as-."

"No. Way." said Cindy's voice again. As soon as I faced the direction she was looking at, I understood what her expression of shock was about. Walking towards us with a lopsided smile, undone tie, and a literal crown fit for a king on his head was Carl. "Are you for real?" Looking back, I noticed Libby's casual shrug and smile, confirming that Carl and her had won the title of prom king and queen. Based on how nervous we both were about facing everyone once again, the excitement of this information was, and I'm sure it was to her as well, a huge relief. With all the commotion going on in celebration of that particular event, it was clear to everyone there that that was all they could focus on.

At least that seemed to be the case until our table's rowdiness calmed down and Libby turned to face me and Cindy, who wound up at my side.

"So, what's going on with you two?"

**Ahhh! You guys! I have to admit, there are some feels with this being the penultimate chapter, but I'm going to try to hold it all in until the next (and final) one. **

**I think this one was pretty productive, if I do say so myself. And for an extra Halloween treat, here's some info on the sequel!**

**I've decided that the sequel will be rated M *insert smirk emoji here*. And because of that when it comes time for its release, you won't see it listed in the archive. So, when it's out (and I will let you know when that is) you have to go looking for it. You can either filter it so only M rated stories appear or find it on my profile (or if you're subscribed to me, you should get a heads up too I believe). **

**PLEASE be on the lookout for that! I'll likely also leave a notice at the end of this story so that if you follow this, you'll know that the sequel is out.**

**THANK YOU GUYS! Now feel free to leave your review. As you already know, I love hearing what you think!**


	21. Chapter 21

***sighs* Love you.**

**Jimmy's POV**

I pulled out of her with a groan and plopped down on the bed. She hummed in satisfaction as she turned to lie down and faced me.

"That was amazing. As always." Cindy let out, her voice raspy from only having woken up moments ago, among other reasons.

"Not as much as you."

She grinned widely and kissed me firmly yet softly. As she pulled away, I could practically feel the smile on her lips. I can't believe how much has happened in a short amount of time. It's hard to believe that the prom, Cindy's declaration of how she feels about me, and us finally getting together, was a mere two weeks ago.

For reasons I'll never understand, the school board thought it would be a good idea to schedule our final exams in the time between prom and graduation. While the exams themselves were of no great concern to me, I found it difficult to focus on studying with the partner that I had.

She was very, to put it lightly, distracting. But luckily, this time around, I was able to do something about it.

That's all finally done though and we have officially completed our high school careers with only one remaining event to get through.

"I _cannot_ believe we have to go to this." She whined as she tangled her leg around mine, like she wanted to make sure I wouldn't escape.

"Cindy, it's our high school graduation." I reminded her.

"Just the ceremony. Everyone knows we're done with school once we take our last final, which we've done days ago. We only have that ceremony to pose for photos with our families while wearing that unflattering so-called gown."

"Your antagonism towards it wouldn't have anything to do with that speech you have to make, would it?" I asked.

"Not at all. Besides, you have to make one too."

"Yes, but unlike you, I am not nervous nor unprepared as was made clear when we were rehearsing them last night."

"I am not nervous nor unprepared!" She answered hotly. "You just didn't let me finish."

"Now we both know that's a lie. I _always _let you finish." I leaned in to kiss her as I chuckled at my own double meaning.

"That's not what I meant!" She swatted my arm but failed to hold back her own laugh.

"Shh. You have to be quiet." I reminded her.

"I thought your Neutron Silence Box or whatever was doing that for us." She mumbled as she nibbled my earlobe.

"I told you it's a prototype. I'm not 100 percent sure it works."

"Well, considering all the noise we were making last night, I sure as hell hope it does!" She replied as she pulled away and laid back down.

As we both have speeches to deliver later today, we thought it would be a good idea for us to rehearse and go over them last night. We, at long last, managed to get that done, and after getting into other, more self-indulgent activities, Cindy ended up spending the night here. It's not something that's happened before nor was it entirely necessary, since she lives across the street and all. However, it did give me a chance to try out my latest invention, temporary named The Silencer. Able to absorb all sounds projected in an enclosed location, it makes the room appear to be complete silent to outsiders. Not a peep should be heard if it works as it should. Considering that my parents' room is right down the hall, for all our sakes, I hope it did.

I may or may not have built it with Cindy and mine's bedroom activities in mind, but its diverse usage shouldn't be ignored.

"God, I'm tired." She sighed. With a smirk, knowing that I had caused her exhaustion, I replied.

"I take it that means you're not up for another round. "

"I'd love to but I really should get going. I don't even want to imagine what my mom would think if she doesn't find in my room."

"Is there any chance she'll think you're here?"

"Probably not, but I'd really rather not wait around to find out." As she spoke, she unwove herself from my sheets and started collecting her clothes. Unlike most days, yesterday she wore a two piece ensemble instead of a dress which had become something of a staple of her. She claimed it was so she could feel more casual and relaxed. While that was completely understandable, it worked out amazingly for me as there was more to work my way through in order to see and touch her, extending the time I had to marvel at her.

As she sat on my bed, now fully clothed, she took the hair elastic that was around her wrist and gathered up all her hair to put it into a high ponytail. It was a good idea, seeing how tangled and messy her hair had become from everything we had gotten up to both last night and this morning.

"How do I look?" She asked as she stood up.

"You look beautiful."

"No, but like," She started with a smile that she was unable to hold back. "do I look publicly presentable? Not like how I would the morning after getting thoroughly fucked half the night by my amazing boyfriend?"

Boyfriend.

I was still getting used to that word.

Not so much the word itself, since, alone, it hardly has any effect. But being referred to as Cindy Vortex's boyfriend is quite a way to be known as.

Everyone at school knows (or at least it seems that way to me) that Cindy and I are, finally, together. They may not all have gotten the memo when we returned to the prom hall hand-in-hand but being students of Retroville High School, word spread fast anyway. The majority of days we spent in school after prom night were to take finals but that sure didn't stop everyone's attention from being on something else.

It's comical.

I always thought I'd never stopped getting annoyed by everyone's hollering and sexually suggestive comments about Cindy and I. Those continued all throughout the time we were casually hooking up, and even while she was going out with Liam. I always thought it was hilarious how precise some of the things they said were. At the end, it turned out that the more they talked and the more accurate it became, the more I ended up embracing it.

"What?" She asked once she saw the frozen look on my face.

"You used that word again."

Knowing what word I was referring to, she playfully rolled her eyes.

"Yes, Neutron. Boyfriend. _You_ are my boyfriend." She started saying as she walked over to where I sat on my bed. Once she reached me, she gently pushed me causing me to fall back onto my mattress. "And I'm going to keep saying it every single day until that changes." I'm not sure if she meant that in the way I was thinking, but I hope that she did. She was now crawling over me and stopped once we were at eye level. "What are you going to do about it?" She whispered in a husky breath.

In an instant, I gripped onto her waist and turned us over so that I was on top of her and our mouths crashed together. I heard her muffled moan and I knew that she didn't see that coming. Once our tongues met and our bodies pressed closer together, I knew there would be very little stopping us from ending up in a sweaty, naked mess once again.

Except maybe hearing a knock at my bedroom door and my mom's voice coming from behind it.

"Jimmy, honey, are you awake?"

"_Shit!_" Cindy whisper-yelled as she pushed me off her at the same time I pulled myself away and frantically got up.

"Just a minute!" I replied nervously before I remembering that she very likely couldn't hear me. That possibility still didn't stop Cindy from anxiously gesturing what she should do. There were very few times that I've ever seen that much fear in her eyes.

As an additional precaution to Cindy spending the night, I locked the door. This is something my mom had a rule against me doing once I hit puberty, likely for this exact reason. Both my parents are respectful enough not to come barging into my room without knocking, something I've always been grateful for. But I knew if I didn't respond or do something soon, she would knock a couple of more times and then try to open the door to check if I'm asleep or not.

So whatever Cindy and I have to do to make it look like her presence here ended last night, we have to do it _fast._

The solution came to me angrily, only because I hadn't thought of it earlier.

"The bathroom." I mouthed to her while pointing in that direction. She nodded in agreement and glanced at my door before quickly making her way there. Meanwhile, I grabbed my comforter off the floor and jumped into bed, covering myself with it. I hastily pressed the button on my bedside table that synced to every active device in the room, including the Silencer and shut it off. Goddard, whom I had instructed to wake up at seven AM once I realized Cindy would be staying over, took care of unlocking the door for me.

All that happened in such a short amount of time that I felt at ease when I spoke, allowing my mom to enter.

"Come in." I said, making my voice sound as groggily as possible. I stretched my arms as I saw both of my parents coming into the room. "Good morning guys."

"Morning, sweetie. Happy graduation day!" My mom exclaimed.

"Thanks." I smiled.

"Yes, Jimbo. Today's a big day and we're real proud of you!"

"Thank you dad." I replied, happy to see them happy.

"Your father and I decided to make your favorite blueberry almond pancakes this morning, if you didn't already have any breakfast plans with your friends or Cindy."

The slightest shudder went through my body when she mentioned her name.

"No, we haven't made plans or anything." I replied coolly. "The pancakes would be great." I threw them another smile.

"Great!" My mom spoke. "We'll go ahead and start and you just come on down when you're ready." She leaned down to kiss me on the cheek.

"Will do." I said as my dad ruffled my hair.

"We'll see you in a bit Jim-Jam. And congratulations." My dad ended as he and my mom both made their way out.

Once I heard their footsteps halfway down the stairs and I knew they wouldn't return, I kicked off the comforter and Cindy emerged from the bathroom seconds later.

"That was way too close." Cindy said tiredly as if she were holding her breath during my parents' entire visit.

"Yeah." I agreed as I stood up again. "They should be in the kitchen though so you should be safe to leave though the front door. You just have to be quiet." She nodded and I knew she was already thinking of how she would execute her escape plan.

"I'll head out now. It's after seven so my parents are definitely awake. Let's see what story I come up with if my mom finds that I didn't spend the night in my own bedroom."

"Good luck." I said sincerely.

"Thanks." She spoke as she grabbed her purse full of notes from my desk. Turning back around to face me, she spoke. "I'll see you up there then. Congratulations."

"You too." I gave her a brief kiss and squeezed her hand. "I love you."

"I love you too." She smiled one last time before reaching for the doorknob.

* * *

**Cindy's POV**

It's only been two weeks since Jimmy and I officially got together but it feels as if everyone in town already knows about it, not that it should really surprise me. While the majority of people seemed to have found out through their own sources (since Jimmy and I certainly weren't going to make any sort of announcement about it), those we're closest to, our parents mainly, were informed by us.

I wouldn't say it was something my mother was entirely angry about, but I wouldn't say she was about to host the celebratory party either. Considering how my last relationship ended, I couldn't really blame her for not being too thrilled about this one.

I managed not to get an earful though, from either her or my dad, which was the main thing I was nervous about. That was relieving, since having to defend my relationship with him wasn't something I was looking forward to doing. I had no idea my parents felt _that_ strongly against Jimmy until they spoke about him during dinner with Liam. So for him to now take on this particular role in their lives was something I was anxious about.

For Jimmy's parents, on the other hand, things could not have gone any better.

His dad is...well, himself. Since I've personally never had an issue with him and he with I, it didn't surprise me that he was fully accepting of our relationship. That's not to say that his mom wasn't. But something about her reaction when we told her we were together said that this was just a confirmation to her. I mainly got that from the slight smirk on her lips when we announced it. While I had seen it from my own mother various times, I'll consider Mrs. Neutron's another example of mother's intuition.

That's also part of the reason why I was terrified when I realized she was behind Jimmy's door.

I didn't have to be told that staying the night, even if it was going to be completely PG, was an absolute no. So to actually have done it, while extremely progressive for us, was so scary.

My sleeping over was kind of a mutual agreement between the two of us. We didn't notice how late it had gotten and even though I live right across the street, it just seemed to be safer if I didn't leave. What's worse is that if I had left, the later it got, the higher the possibility of me waking up either parent increased and that wouldn't have been safe either.

Jimmy had told me about a new invention he had been working on and while I had forgotten about it, him bringing it up last night made our sleepover seem like a much more enticing idea. It was risky of course, especially considering he wasn't even one hundred percent sure that it would work. But after getting a little too rowdy once or twice, it seemed to us both that it turned out to be a success.

It's really just our dumb luck that we almost got caught anyway. It would have been quite a way to start such a memorable day in our lives.

Finally, our graduation day has arrived.

While a part of me did expect the role I'll be playing, I wasn't entirely prepared for it, mainly the speech I had to make at the ceremony. Seeing as Jimmy is making a similar one as well, I sincerely thought it would be a good idea to rehearse them ahead of time to spare us the potential embarrassment if it went badly.

I may have talked a big game this whole time and acted like I didn't care, but I knew, just like everyone, that this day was pretty important. And as occurs with nearly all important days, it passed by _way _too quickly. Before I knew it, I was standing with Libby outside the football field, waiting to line up.

"I can't believe this is really happening!" she repeated almost exactly what I was thinking with a more cheerful tone. Just before I was able to reply, Sheen, Carl, and Jimmy approached us, wearing the red graduation robes that are required for all the boys. It contrasted the royal blue one us girls had to wear. Jimmy, like me, wore a gold stole over his shoulders.

"Looks like this is it." Carl spoke.

"Yeah." Libby spoke before anyone else could. "I know it's a little early to say this, but I'm really going to miss you guys." I could already tell she was getting emotional.

"Carl's leaving in a month but we're going to be seeing a lot of each other until then, you know that." Jimmy assured her.

In the past few weeks, news of everyone's plans have been a total blur because of how quick, and in some scenarios, shocking they came about.

Carl, committed to going into the veterinary sciences, is deferring his enrollment at Purdue University in the form of a gap year where he's going to be traveling around the world. I was surprised when I first heard, not so much because I would never picture him to be that sort, but of how committed he is to it. As Jimmy mentioned, he'll be leaving in four weeks, his first stop being Ecuador where he'll kicking off the South American leg of his journey.

"Yeah, but then you and Sheen are leaving two weeks after that."

This was news to me. At least the part about Sheen was.

With Libby going to the University of Houston in the fall, she'll be staying somewhat local. As far as I knew, Sheen was going to county college, meaning he would be staying close by too. So to hear that he's going somewhere definitely caught my attention.

"Wait, are you doing something else now? Where are you going?" I asked out loud even though everyone would knew it was directed to Sheen.

"You didn't tell her?" Sheen turned to Libby.

"I didn't think it was my business to say." she replied. He smiled at her and then looked back to me.

"I've actually decided to enlist in the military."

"Oh my God." I reacted genuinely. "Are you serious? That-that's great Sheen. Good for you and thank you." Apart from his appreciative smile, I noticed that neither Jimmy nor Carl had a reaction similar to mine. "Was I the last one to know about this?"

"Pretty much, yeah. I couldn't really find a time to bring it up." Jimmy answered.

"I guess this is really it for us then." I started. "You guys, it's really been-."

"Okay, everyone line up! We'll be starting in a few moments!" We all heard our instructions. Since Jimmy and I needed to go in the front, we said our goodbyes to our friends and started moving up the line.

"You're going to do great. Don't get nervous." He told me as he lightly squeezed my hand with his.

"I'm not. I'm completely fine. Besides, you're the one we should all be nervous about."

"So I take it there are no hard feelings?" he asked.

"At my being salutatorian to your valedictorian? No. None at all." I answered back the slightest bit exasperatedly.

It didn't really come as a surprise at all when we were told which one of us had achieved it, even if I had worked so hard for it. Describing him as a genius was never an exaggeration and that didn't change as we got older. Although we both deserved it, it ultimately had to go to one of us. Despite that I didn't get it, I'm still proud to have the ranking that I do.

We finally reached the end of the line and stood accordingly to the way we had rehearsed it. Within the next couple of minutes, we were walking onto the field in an orderly fashion as "Pomp and Circumstance" played in the background.

* * *

After many speeches, rounds of applause, and names called, we were finally done. And not just with the ceremony, but with this tremendous part of our lives.

Immediately after it ended and the second we could get away, Jimmy and I went looking for Carl, Sheen, and Libby, knowing we wanted to spend this time with them before our families could find us.

I could tell Libby had been crying as we approached her and the guys. We all had a few minutes of chattering, crying, and hugging before our respective parents found us and insisted on taking pictures. In between shots, they complimented Jimmy and I on our speeches.

I'm not really sure at what point my smile went from being a little bit exaggerated to one hundred percent real. Maybe it was just because in these moments, I was surrounded by my loved ones with whom I have spent a wonderfully eventful part of my life. Individually or together, these people mean the world to me and it's not just because we have gone through so much.

They have helped me, they have motivated me in ways I don't think they'll ever understand. I will forever be grateful for them and everything we have gone through and try as I might, I will never forget any of it.

This last year in particular has been quite a whirlwind for so many reasons. I wouldn't take any of it back though because there's no way I would be as happy as I am at this moment. While certain parts about getting to this point would be considered by many to be unconventional, I can't think of any other way it would have gone that it would have had this good of an outcome.

Nearly a half hour later, Jimmy and I managed to get some time alone as we walked down the main hallway of school. Although neither one of us was saying it, I knew we were both quietly reminiscing about the time we've spent here. But in all our remembering, there was one thing that I couldn't forget.

"There's only one thing left to do, you know." I turned to him and said.

"Oh, yeah? What's that?" He faced me as well.

"You still haven't told me what school you're going to." He rolled his eyes although I knew he was joking around. I still didn't know where he was going to school despite that he was leaving for a summer Honors program in a few weeks. It was a huge tease and while it was funny at first, now that it was so close to happening, I think it's understandable that I need to know. This was something he kept me on edge about. Out of fairness, I did the same and told nobody where I was going besides my parents and Libby.

"Cindy..." He trailed off.

"When exactly do you plan to tell me?" I replied irritably. "We graduated today. You're leaving in six weeks for an Honors program of a school that I don't even know." I crossed my arm, physically showing him that I was getting angry. "We already have that limited amount to time together so it's really not fair of you to-."

"MIT." He interrupted.

"Wha-what?" I abruptly stopped.

"I'm going to MIT."

"Really?" I replied breathlessly, my mood entirely different.

"Yes." He confirmed as he brushed some hair out of my face. "I was going to take you out to dinner tomorrow night and tell you then, but you clearly couldn't wait a second longer."

"I'm going to Columbia!" I blurted out as if I hadn't heard him, even though I did. He broke out into a smile.

"I know."

"How-?"

"Sheen." He confirmed what I was thinking just before he said it.

"Ugh! I'm going to kill them both!"

"No, you won't. Come here." Before I could say anything else, he shut me up by kissing me. My arms went around his neck as I reciprocated. "I love you." I whispered since he kept me close after we broke apart moments later.

"I love you too. So much."

And while we could both hear our friends and family calling our names, looking for us, we stayed in our embrace, knowing that nothing could beat this moment right here.

**Whew. Okay.**

**I want to thank each one of you so incredibly much for anything and everything you have done to support me and this story. If you've been here from the beginning or if you just binge read this today, thank you and I appreciate it so much from the very bottom of my heart. You've been an absolute pleasure to write for. I definitely feel like I've grown as a writer because of my experience with this and I'm so glad to have you guys to go through that with me. I'll likely end up thank you guys individually anyway but rest assured, I am so grateful for you all.**

**And now for the info you're all waiting for.**

**If all goes as expected (which I hope it does) I plan to have the first chapter of the sequel released on *drumroll here* January 1st 2017! I really think I should be ready by then, but as I've been saying, I'll keep you posted. If you're subscribed to this story, I recommend you do not remove your alert since I'll probably post something on here when we're ready to go. And if you have me on author alert, that should work too.**

**AWKWARDLY INSERTED EDIT! 11/26/16: I completely forgot to mention that BEFORE the sequel comes out, I will release a second one-shot outtake for this story. It, like the first outtake, will be rated M, so same rules for finding the sequel are going to apply. You can filter it out and/or add me on author alert. And of course, you're always welcome to head on over and read the first outtake. **

**Finally, another reminder that you can follow me on Twitter (District13Tribute) for updates on the sequel and any other stories I'll be writing on here.**

**Thank you so SO much, I love you all, and I'll see you all next time.**


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